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".

Rating Warning: RATED M – for sexual references.

(30/07/2018)

CHAPTER 17

Jack had just gotten home when he received the text from Elizabeth that she was on her way. Tom had ended up bailing on him, so Lee had dropped him home a bit earlier.

Jack went and got his paper and pencils and began to draw, trying to calm himself down. Elizabeth was stressing him out. As his hand glided over the paper, Jack began to feel at ease. Elizabeth's image emerged on the paper in front of him. He stared at it for ages, trying to figure out what he wanted.

Jack pinned up all the pictures on the wall in the basement. There was one of the boat and the fish. The other was of Elizabeth that night in her red dress before she had left. Everything about her drove him crazy. He did not want to forget that image any time soon.

He heard a car pull up so Jack went back upstairs and closed the basement door just as he heard the keys turn in the lock. He went straight to the door and got there just in time to catch Elizabeth as she fell through the door. Great. She's drunk.

Elizabeth had been nervous all night. Honestly, she would have preferred to be home with Jack but he made her pulse race and the butterflies flutter like they hadn't in years. She needed to calm her nerves before she faced him. Elizabeth had a glass of wine and could feel that she was less jittery.

Jasmine had pulled her onto the dance floor and they began dancing as she felt eyes on them. Rosie snapped some photos with her phone, a mischievous look on her face, before sitting back down at their table.

"What are you up to?" Elizabeth yelled over the music.

"Nothing" Rosie said with a smirk.

"You're lying."

"Fine. Lee wanted a photo."

"Oh really. You weren't even in it. Why would Lee want a photo of me and Jas?"

"Because he's with Jack, of course."

"What?"

"Apparently your plan is working. Jack is pulling his hair out worrying about you."

Elizabeth immediately regretted her decision. She didn't want him to be that worried about her.

"Is he okay? Maybe I should just go home."

"No! Make him sweat a bit longer."

"I don't know Rosie" Elizabeth said nervously.

"Just have another glass of wine and we'll go home after that."

Elizabeth nodded as Rosie poured her another glass.

"By the way" Rosie said handing her the glass, "I'm exhausted. How did we ever do this when we were younger?"

"I have no idea. I'm tired too." Elizabeth took a long sip of her wine.

After saying goodbye to Jasmine and piling back into Sarah's car, Rosie and Sarah decided to give Elizabeth an ongoing pep talk the entire ride home.

"Go home and tell him what you want, Beth."

"He's waiting for you to tell him. He's a gentleman. You know that."

Elizabeth nodded. I can do that. Just tell him what I want.

Rosie gave her a big hug when they dropped her off. Elizabeth truly believed that Rosie was trying to pass on all her confidence to her friend by the tightness of it. Elizabeth smiled. Rosie truly was a great friend. Probably her best friend these days.

Once Elizabeth arrived home, she pulled out her keys and let herself in. As she was about to walk in, her heel caught on a crack in the porch tiles and it shifted underneath her, causing her to fall forward. She shrieked in response but fell into Jack's outstretched arms.

"Hey, are you okay?" Jack asked, holding her tight up against his chest.

Elizabeth was pressed up against his chest and inhaled that familiar smell of him that she knew so well. She felt his strong arms around her and immediately the butterflies came back.

"Yeah, my shoe …" she mumbled into his chest.

Elizabeth tried to press herself away and regain her footing but the absence of a heel caused her leg to falter. Jack grabbed her arm trying to stabilise her. She balanced precariously on her good shoe, kicking the broken one off and almost over balancing again while she tried to remove the other one.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jack's eyes narrowed at her.

She finally got the other one off and then once she could stand up straight, she looked him back in the eye as she moved closer to him.

"I'm fine. How was your night?" she said as she ran her hand over his forearm and cast.

"Okay. Lee and I had a few drinks at the pub. Tom didn't show."

"That's too bad" she said. She could feel her heart rate flying. Why am I so nervous? He's my husband. We've done this hundreds of times before. Just act, do not talk.

"How was your night?"

"Okay" she said as her hands glided up his arms and over his shoulders. "Better now" she said as she pulled him down to her and kissed him.

Thoughts were flying around Jack's head. The fact that Elizabeth had not only staggered in the door but then stumbled twice more in a matter of minutes made him certain that she was drunk.

Jack had started out angry with her. She shouldn't be drinking so much that she's stumbling home to her husband. What was she thinking? Is her life really that bad that she has to resort to alcohol?

He tried to talk to her to see just how intoxicated she was but she didn't seem to want to talk. She was kissing him eagerly and although it felt exactly the same as all her other kisses, he could sense a state of urgency with them.

He pulled back from her reluctantly.

"How were your friends? Did Rosie behave herself?"

He just wanted a sentence to see how drunk she was.

"Good. Yes" she said before pulling him back and covering his lips with her own.

Her hands went straight to the buttons of his shirt and she struggled to get the buttons undone at first, before she ended up just getting the first few and pulling it over his head. It got stuck on his cast but she tugged it off before her body was pressed back up against his.

Jack didn't know what to do. His wife was throwing herself at him but she was clearly intoxicated. I don't want her to regret everything tomorrow morning. But would she really regret it? He remembered how embarrassed she was when she had found out he had seen her when she dropped her towel in the bedroom. This would be way worse. If I could say I was a bit tipsy as well, that would be okay, he thought.

His hands tightened around her and he was lifting her, her legs wrapping around him just like they did the other day, only this time her dress was way shorter. As he carried her, his hands were holding the bare skin at the top of her legs.

He stumbled up the stairs, his hands pushing her dress up higher. Her lips left his and darted away, making their way up his neck and along his jaw.

Jack reached the hallway and stumbled bumping them into the wall. It jolted him from the trance. Her legs dropped and she pulled her dress over her head swiftly and then went straight to his belt.

What are you doing? You can't go through with this. She's going to kill you when she wakes up in the morning.

Jack pulled back.

"Elizabeth. Stop. We have to stop."

Elizabeth ignored him, she had his belt undone and pushed his jeans down. He caught a glimpse of her almost bare body, before she was pulling him back to her. He couldn't deny the pull she had on him. He was kissing her back firmly but as soon as her fingers skimmed over his boxers, he pulled back.

"Beth, we can't."

"Can't what?" she asked him, her hands sliding over him. Oh, her hands feel so good. No, concentrate. Stop.

"We have to stop, Beth."

"Why?" she said still not focusing on him.

He took her face in his hands, looking into her eyes.

"Beth."

"What?" she said looking straight at him.

"Not tonight."

"Why?"

"Because you're not in the right state."

"Right state? What are you talking about?"

"You're drunk Beth. I don't want you to do something you will regret."

"Regret? What are you talking about?"

"I love you Beth, but I don't want to do this now."

"You don't want to be with me?"

"No, it's not that. It's ..."

"You're not attracted to me?"

"No …"

"You don't want me?"

"Beth …"

"Enough said, Jack."

He saw that her eyes began glistening.

"Beth, please …"

"Don't worry about it Jack." She leant down and picked up her dress, before walking into her room and shutting the door. He heard her turn the lock.

Elizabeth went straight into the bathroom and turned the shower on. She stood there looking in the mirror for a moment, staring at her underwear clad body. Her makeup was only slightly smudged. She didn't think she looked too bad considering.

Elizabeth stepped into the hot shower and only then did she let the tears fall.

She stayed in the shower for a long time. She didn't want to go back into the room to hear Jack calling out to her. Eventually she got out, drying off, before getting into her pyjamas.

Elizabeth went to bed, laying down on her back. She lay there staring at the ceiling waiting to hear Jack's voice but there was nothing.

She rolled over and caught the faintest smell of his pillow. She reached out and pulled the pillow to her, curling her arms around it and hugging it tight. Inhaling his smell again brought all the pain back.

She missed her Jack. Not the Jack down the hall. Her Jack. The one she married. The one who stepped onto a plane six months ago who was yet to return. Just like that, the tears returned and she cried herself to sleep.

Elizabeth got up early the next morning and left the house for a run. She hadn't been able to go outside for ages and she hadn't even hit the treadmill in the last few weeks. The morning air was warm already and she knew they would be in for a hot day.

Elizabeth ran hard until her lungs burned and her legs were sore. Then she turned around and jogged home again. She passed Abigail's on the way and decided to make a stop.

"Elizabeth!" Abigail called out. "I haven't seen you in a week. How are you?"

"Good thanks, Abigail."

"Where are the girls?"

"They had a sleepover. Just me today. Can I just grab a coffee?"

"Sure."

Elizabeth stood near the counter while Abigail went to the coffee machine.

Abigail walked the coffee cup back around to Elizabeth.

"Have you got time to sit for a few minutes?" Abigail asked.

Elizabeth nodded and followed Abigail to a table.

"How is everything going at home?"

Immediately Elizabeth felt the disappointment from the previous night creeping back in.

"Okay. It was going fine and then … not so fine."

"Why? What happened?"

"Let's just say I think I'm rushing him" Elizabeth said.

"Elizabeth, you are one of the most patient people I know."

"Yes, in some ways I can be patient. I just want my husband back. I don't want to feel alone anymore."

Abigail nodded. "I know. It must be so difficult."

"I just feel ashamed."

Abigail looked at her surprised. She put her hand across the table to cover Elizabeth's.

"Why would you feel like that?"

"Last night, I think I went too far. I don't know how to recover from that."

"Just talk to him. He will understand."

"I don't know that I can. He pushed me away. He didn't want me." The tears were back, filling her eyes and making her vision blurry. She could feel the warmth resting on her bottom lids, threatening to spill again.

Abigail got up and immediately came around to give her a hug.

"I'm sure you got that wrong. That man has only ever had eyes for you. Nothing would ever change that."

"You don't know that for sure."

"No, I don't but I have faith that he will come back to you."

Elizabeth nodded and stood up to leave.

"Thanks for the chat Abigail. I will come back again soon."

"Any time Elizabeth. Bye."

Elizabeth walked home slowly. She was dreading walking in the door. What am I going to say?

Jack had hardly slept a wink all night. He had gone back past Elizabeth's room and listened to her sobbing. It had broken his heart knowing that he had caused that.

He had a text from Lee early the next morning.

L: How did it go?

J: Not good.

L: Why?

J: I stuffed up.

L: How?

J: She seemed drunk so I turned her down.

L: WHAT! You're insane!

J: I know.

L: Is she still talking to you?

J: Not yet. But I haven't seen her yet.

L: Good luck. You're going to need it.

Jack groaned. So far Lee had been right about everything and Jack was certain that he was also right about this.

He got up and noticed Elizabeth's door was already open and she was nowhere to be found. It was only 7 am but the house was empty and her car was still in the garage. Where would she have gone this early in the morning?

Jack wandered aimlessly around the house before ending up in the basement staring at his drawings. Over an hour later he heard a door close and light footsteps. He reluctantly left the safety of the basement and went to find his wife.

Jack emerged from the basement. Elizabeth was bent over in her exercise gear, unlacing her running shoes. She looked like she'd been exercising hard, clearly not hung over from a night of drinking. When she glanced up at him, he could tell instantly that she had not forgiven him for last night. Her eyes were a stormy blue colour that mirrored her mood.

She stood back up and walked past him without uttering a word.

"Elizabeth, please. I need to talk to you."

She stopped, her back still to him.

"I'm sorry about last night. I thought you had been drinking and I didn't want you to regret being with me like that."

"Why would I regret that, Jack?" her voice was hoarse and cracked.

"I don't know. I was trying to be respectful."

"You're supposed to be my husband, Jack."

She didn't give him the chance to reply. She kept walking.

Elizabeth went on her own to pick up the girls from Viola. Viola opened the door happily but immediately her face dropped when she saw Elizabeth.

"Beth are you okay?"

"I'm fine. Are the girls ready?"

Viola looked at her for a moment before rushing away.

Eve came running out to her.

"Mommy I missed you."

"I missed you too, baby" she said as she crouched down to give her a hug. She felt the tears again. Pull yourself together. Stop crying every two seconds.

She carried Eve to the car while Halley and Gracie walked behind her, telling Elizabeth all the things they did at Viola's. Elizabeth did her best to concentrate but she kept feeling her mind drifting back to Jack. How am I going to get past this? I need to let it go. The problem was that she knew they were back at the beginning now. She had basically undone the last few weeks with one crazy plan.

The rest of the weekend was hard going. Jack tried to talk to Elizabeth but she either felt embarrassed or was angry. Either way she refused to talk about anything except the girls. After she put the girls to bed at night, Jack was hoping to talk to her some more but she just went straight to her room and shut the door.

On Sunday night, after he knew she must have been asleep he opened the door to check on her. He found her wrapped around the pillow that he used. She was hugging it like it was him. He wanted to climb in to bed next to her and hold her close, but he couldn't. She wasn't ready. He wasn't going to force her.

Jack had received the all clear from his doctor to drive again. Elizabeth had mentioned that they had sold his truck when he was deployed last time. There was no point having it sit in the garage for nine months. The plan was that they would buy a new truck when he got home. Elizabeth gave him a blank cheque and told him to buy whatever he wanted. He had looked at her in surprise. He had yet to ask her about money.

"Are you sure we can afford that?" Jack had looked at her incredulously.

"Yeah. Whatever you want." She didn't even look at him.

"What did I have before?"

"A truck."

That was the end of that conversation. He ended up calling Lee and on Tuesday afternoon, Lee took him to the car dealer.

"What did I have before?"

Lee looked at him sideways.

"One of those." Lee had pointed to a black truck with nice rims and leather interior.

"That looks really nice. Did I like it?"

"Yeah. You've always loved your trucks."

"I've had a few?"

"Yeah you get a new one every few years."

"How can we afford that?"

"Elizabeth's dad is loaded. After Grace passed away he gave all his daughters part of their inheritance."

"Right."

"Beth didn't tell you any of this?"

"No. She's still not really talking to me."

Lee looked worried. "Jack you have to fix this!"

"Lee! I know! She won't give me the time of day. Everything is a two or three word answer and that's it. She won't even enter the same room that I'm in at the moment."

"Hell Jack! Its been four days! What did you do?!"

Jack just shook his head. He would take it all back in a second if he could. He never believed everything would have backfired this badly.

Lee helped Jack pick a car and he bought it on the spot. It would be available to pick up the next day after all the paperwork was finalised. Lee dropped Jack back home.

Jack found Elizabeth in the kitchen cutting up vegetables for dinner. Jack put on a brave face and tried to pretend nothing had happened.

"Hi babe. I bought a truck. Pick it up tomorrow" Jack said trying to sound excited.

Elizabeth barely looked up. "That's good."

Jack walked around behind her and put his arm on her back. She immediately pulled away and moved across the kitchen back to the fridge.

"Don't you want to know what colour I picked?" he prompted.

"Gunmetal grey with black rims and black leather interior."

"How did you know?" Jack said surprised.

"You pick the same colour every time."

She came back to the chopping board but still kept the distance between them.

He decided to give it one more go. Then he would leave it for another day.

He walked up closer behind her, his hands resting on her hips. He noticed that she stopped cutting and she seemed to be holding her breath. He slid his good arm around so that it crossed over her stomach. He leant his head in and kissed her cheek.

"Please. Talk to me Beth" he whispered.

"I can't."

She pulled away from him and walked off.

Continued … couldn't leave you hanging so I waited until both chapters were done! :)