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".

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(2/8/2018)

CHAPTER 21

Elizabeth didn't sleep much that night. She was tossing and turning all the while wondering what was going to happen with Jack. She thought they had been making good progress since his memories had been coming back. After Jack told her that some had slipped away again, Elizabeth was terrified. If he didn't have his drawings, they wouldn't have even realised.

Jack lay still beside her, flat on his back. He slept beside her every night now. At least that had gone back to normal but that was as far as things had gone. It wasn't because she didn't want to but after the debacle from the previous week, she had lost her nerve all together.

Their contact had gone back to holding hands and hugging with a bit of kissing thrown in, but nothing close to the level that had been driving Elizabeth crazy. Every time things started to accelerate, Elizabeth pulled back the reins and stopped. It wasn't time. And his loss of memories proved that.

As Elizabeth lay there wide awake, she heard whimpering coming from downstairs. She got up and went down to find Rip sitting at the gate crying. She scooped him up and went and laid down on the lounge. After licking her profusely, he finally settled and curled up in her arms. They both fell asleep.

Elizabeth woke up feeling wet. Apparently Rip had decided peeing on her was a good idea. She sat up and frantically started to look for him only to find him sitting happily in Halley's lap at the end of the lounge.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"You looked tired."

"Rip peed on me."

Halley just laughed.

Elizabeth groaned and went and got paper towel and some disinfectant to wipe down the lounge.

"Do not let him walk around. If you need to put him down, put him back in the laundry please."

"Ok, Mommy."

Elizabeth went upstairs for a shower. Jack was sitting on the side of the bed, his head in his hands, clearly just woken up.

"Hey babe. What's wrong?" she said approaching him, but not putting her hands on him.

"Nothing. I just had a weird dream" he said, still looking down.

"Bad weird or weird weird?"

"Just weird."

"I'm just going to go for a shower and then you can tell me about it?"

"Where've you been?" he said finally looking up, his eyes all bloodshot.

"Oh Jack, your eyes. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. Just go for a shower. I'll be fine."

Elizabeth had her shower in record time. She came back into the bedroom to find Jack in the same spot. Head back in his hands. She quickly grabbed her clothes and went back into the bathroom to change. She rushed out and went and sat down next to Jack, rubbing her hand across his back.

"Hey. Talk to me."

"I just don't know what is real and fake. It felt like a dream but there must have been some truth to it."

"Alright …"

"I don't want to talk about it just yet."

"Okay. Well I'm here when you do" she said. His arm moved around her before he kissed her forehead and held her close.

As soon as the specialist's office was opened, Elizabeth called the neurologist to see if he would be able to see Jack. Thankfully, there had been a cancellation and Dr Shepherd could see them that afternoon.

At the clinic, Dr Shepherd welcomed Jack and brought them both into his room.

"Jack. How have you been feeling?"

"I thought I was getting better. I had lots of new memories last week."

"That's a good sign."

"Yeah, until they faded again."

"Oh, I see." Dr Shepherd glanced between Jack and Elizabeth clearly seeing their concern.

"Jack, that is okay. That is perfectly normal for this type of injury. Do you remember all of the other side effects we already talked about?" Dr Shepherd asked them both, but looked toward Elizabeth.

She nodded but Dr Shepherd relisted them.

"Have you had any problems with reasoning?"

Elizabeth nodded her head and grinned. Jack turned and saw her expression and just shook his head at her. Clearly he didn't want her mentioning the puppies.

Dr Shepherd saw the exchange but didn't push.

"Ok, what about your sight and balance? You had the eye test before you were allowed to drive again. Definitely no balance issues?"

"No."

"Any issues communicating or expressing yourself?"

"A little but I think I was always bad at those things" he said it seriously but Elizabeth couldn't help but laugh.

"Hey!" he turned to her, grinning.

Dr Shepherd laughed too. "Yes, well most men probably are at fault for that at some point in their married lives."

Elizabeth saw Jack roll his eyes at her. He knew full well that he was in that category.

"Elizabeth have you noticed any personality changes, aggression or things that are out of character?"

"No. We've had a few things happen but I think its caused more by his changes in reasoning rather than personality changes. He's basically the same Jack. Really good with the girls, caring and empathetic."

Dr Shepherd nodded as he made some notes on his computer.

"Jack, how is the therapy going?"

"The hypnosis isn't working" Jack said dejectedly.

"Okay. That's alright. You've had three or four sessions now?"

"Yes. It's a waste of time."

"That's fine. I'm going to recommend you speak to a social worker that specialises in traumatic brain injury. He has been on leave but got back this week. He will be able to liaise between your therapist and psychologist and maybe suggest some other form of treatment. He is very experienced in this field. One of the best."

"That sounds good" Jack said as he glanced at Elizabeth for agreement.

"Alright. I will give him a call after this and I will pass on your clinical notes to him. He will give you a call soon. You might need to come back in to the hospital but he also does home visits."

"That will be fine. What is the man's name?"

"Bill. Bill Avery."

"Okay. I will look forward to his call. Thanks Dr Shepherd."

"Anytime Jack."

Jack was quiet all the way home. He held Elizabeth's hand tightly but Elizabeth felt that was the only way he could communicate what he was feeling.

Jack was feeling frustrated and anxious. He wasn't sure what to do. After dinner that night and the girls had gone to bed, he sat on the floor of the laundry petting Rip.

Elizabeth came past.

"Jack, what's happening? You've been really quiet today."

"I'm fine. Just thinking."

"That sounds serious."

He didn't reply.

"I was thinking we should sit down and watch one of your favourite movies. Die Hard was always at the top of your list. You know there were two more sequels in the last ten years."

"Okay." Jack put Rip down on his dog bed gently. The puppy kept snoring lightly.

Elizabeth put out her hands to help him up. She led him towards the television room and set the DVD player up before coming to sit next to him. The movie started and thankfully it felt like only yesterday since he last saw Bruce Willis on the screen.

For the first time all day, Jack could feel his anxiety lessen. He finally relaxed back, pulling Elizabeth into his side.

On Tuesday, the girls insisted on going swimming at the lake.

"Are you sure it's warm enough?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes!" Gracie yelled.

Halley came down the stairs already dressed in her swimsuit with three towels.

Jack laughed at their eagerness. "I guess you can't say no to that" Jack said motioning to Halley with his head.

Elizabeth looked up and saw Halley and sighed.

"Fine."

The squeals erupted from all three girls.

"Can we take Rip?"

"No, he's too little. He will have to stay here. Maybe next time."

It didn't dull their excitement. Gracie and Eve were still running around in circles.

"Girls! Stop! Go get your swimsuits" Elizabeth called out.

Jack automatically picked up Eve and swung her over his shoulder. She laughed hysterically as he carried her upstairs to her room.

"Where is your swimsuit, Eve?"

Eve ran over to her dresser and started rifling through it. She pulled out a one piece and brought it over to him. He looked at it wondering how on earth he was supposed to help her into it. It looked way too complicated.

"Come on. We will take it back to Mommy."

"Okay" she said grabbing it from his hand and running back down the hall.

Jack went to his own drawers and looked for something that resembled swimwear. Nothing was really calling out to him.

He went to the top of the stairs.

"Beth, where do I find my boardshorts?"

"Second drawer in the dresser."

Jack turned back and went to check the dresser in his room but they were all t-shirts. She must have meant my old dresser.

He went into her room and noticed for the first time that there were two dressers. He went to the second drawer and opened it. It revealed a whole heap of lacy lingerie. He stood there for a moment, staring at all the lace in different colours. Pulling himself back together, he shut the drawer and went to the other dresser and found the boardshorts and swimwear that she had mentioned. He pulled them on but as he left the room, his mind was still fixed on the other drawer.

It was a beautiful sunny day as Elizabeth drove them down to their favourite spot at the lake. She helped Eve out of the car and loaded Jack up with a beach bag and towels. She grabbed another bag herself and they made their way down to the shore. Elizabeth set out the towel to sit on and the girls were immediately pulling their dresses off and running to the water's edge.

Elizabeth watched as they screamed in delight when they realised how cold the water was. Jack pulled off his shirt and joined them as they ran in and out of the water, the girls screaming as they got splashed. Elizabeth couldn't take her eyes off Jack. She knew he'd been working pretty hard in the gym and she could already see the improvement.

Jack picked up Halley and carried her into the deeper water. She tried to cling to him but next thing Jack dropped down into the water taking Halley with him. She was immersed in the water and she was squealing and laughing. She climbed onto his back as he carried her back out of the water. Gracie and Eve both had a go too. Once they were all wet they called out for Elizabeth.

"Mommy, come in the water with us!" Halley called out.

Elizabeth shook her head. "It looks too cold."

"Come on Mommy!" Gracie yelled.

Elizabeth watched as Jack pulled them in for a huddle. She watched as the three girls were glancing back at her laughing.

Eve broke away from them and walked towards her.

"What's wrong, baby?"

"Daddy told me to come over here."

"Why?" Elizabeth asked cautiously. She stood up and walked closer to her.

"What's wrong?"

Elizabeth looked up to see Halley and Gracie coming toward her with wide grins on their faces.

"What are you two up to?"

Halley and Gracie both ran toward her and wrapped her up in a big hug as Eve joined in, their wet, cold bodies pressed up against her.

"Aaaah!" she screamed with laughter.

Then Jack was there scooping her up and carrying her to the water.

"No Jack! No! Please! It's too cold!"

"Sorry, babe" he said as he walked straight into the water taking her with him.

"No, no, no!" she said as she felt the water licking the soles of her feet.

Jack carried her until the water was above his waist. She had her hands wrapped around his neck tightly and she was trying to lift herself higher.

"You ready, babe?"

"No!" she screamed.

He dropped her straight into the water. It was freezing. She found her footing and flew back up out of the water. She was screaming involuntarily. Jack stood there laughing while the three girls stood back closer to the bank in hysterics.

He came forward wrapping an arm around her waist. She put her hands up against his chest.

"Hey, get away from me" she said laughing, trying to push him away.

"I was going to warm you up."

"You should have thought about that before you dunked me."

"Now don't be like that. Look at the girls. Look how much they enjoyed that."

Elizabeth looked back at her daughters who were all grinning ear to ear.

"You turned them against me" she said laughing.

"Yes, I did" he said with a dimpled grin.

He is so cute when he does that.

He pulled her in closer, her hands shifted to his shoulders. She was glad that his cast was off now and his arm was not hanging awkwardly off to the side. He leant in and tried to kiss her but she pulled back again.

"Uh uh. I don't think so."

"What? I can't kiss you now?"

"Nope" she said laughing. She pushed away and began running out of the water.

She heard him running after her and way too quickly he caught her and spun her around, kissing her. She was still laughing into him but he quickly silenced her as she realised the depth of his kiss. It was way too serious to be on a beach in front of their daughters.

He must have thought the same thing because he pulled back quickly. He gave her a wink and walked over to the girls leaving her standing in the water breathing heavily. He's just being a giant tease now and he knows it. Fine, two can play at that game.

She still had her sundress on because the girls didn't give her a chance to take it off. She walked back to where their towels were and pulled the wet material off, laying it beside her to dry. She pulled out her sunglasses and sunhat and laid down on her towel, her back to the ground. Her tight red bikini was on full display. She knew her top half was revealing a lot more than she would normally allow but she hadn't anticipated taking her sundress off.

As she lay there and pulled her hat over her face, she left a crack so that she could still keep an eye on Jack and the girls. She wasn't sure if Jack had been paying her any attention. Sure enough, she saw him turn and glance over at her and he did a double take. After that she saw him turn back to watch her every few minutes. There we go, he's still interested. She chuckled to herself before she shut her eyes.

Jack had glanced up to where Elizabeth was laying and he almost fell over. Her practically bare body, except for a red string bikini was on display for anyone who happened to come along. He kept glancing over at her, hoping she would put a t-shirt on or something but no. She stayed there soaking up the sun's rays.

Eve wanted help to build a sand castle so he was doing his best to help her. Once he looked up he realised that there was a group of people that had just pulled up and were setting themselves up nearby. They were mainly guys but there were a few girls, so at first he wasn't concerned.

Until they spotted Elizabeth. He knew she was unaware of the effect she was having but soon she had a cluster of guys checking her out, much to Jack's dismay.

"Eve. Go climb on mommy. Ask her if she wants to help with the sand castle."

Eve ran over to Elizabeth. Jack watched as Elizabeth pulled her hat off when Eve got closer and listened to her request. Eve began walking back alone.

"She said she's trying to get warm. She will come help in a minute."

Jack looked up to see Elizabeth grinning at him and gave him a wink before laying back down. He smiled back at her, shaking his head. He glanced back at the crowd of guys but they didn't seem deterred that Elizabeth was with him and their girls.

Jack walked over to her and sat down.

"What are you trying to do to me Beth?" he said quietly.

She pulled her hat off and sat up next to him.

"What are you talking about?" she said innocently.

"You know very well that I cannot keep my eyes off you."

"Well you should have thought about that before you kissed me and then walked away. What else is a girl supposed to do to get some attention?"

"You shouldn't be flaunting your body where anyone can see it!" he said exasperated.

His hand reached out, resting on her thigh above her knee.

"Oh Jack. You are the only one paying attention" she said as she waved her hand.

"No I'm not. You have a whole audience behind you." She was making him frustrated in more than one way.

"Don't tell me that you are jealous, Jack?" she said sarcastically.

"No. I just don't want to share you. Can't you put your dress back on?"

"Nope. Its wet."

"Fine. Desperate times require desperate measures."

"What's that …"

Jack cut her off by kissing her. He felt her respond to him and kiss him back. His hand held her around her bare waist.

"You're driving me crazy, Beth" he whispered.

"Good to know I have that effect on you" she said leaning in to kiss him again.

"Me and every other guy within a one mile radius."

Elizabeth put her slightly damp sundress back on and packed up their picnic while Jack and the girls were still playing. She decided to take a load to the car while they finished off. She walked past a big group of people, not noticing she was getting some attention. She reached the car and opened the boot of their SUV. She put the bags in before shutting it again. When she turned to walk back to Jack, there was a guy in front of her.

"Hi there."

"Hi" Elizabeth said warily.

"You look really familiar. You don't happen to be related to Miss Thatcher do you?"

"Yes. I'm one in the same. Mrs Thornton now."

"Wow. You look exactly the same. I used to go to Hope Valley Elementary about ten years ago."

"Really? You must have been in sixth grade when I started there."

"Yes, I had a massive crush on you. Hence, why I remember you." The young man gave her a massive grin.

"What's your name?" Elizabeth asked.

"Jack Bowman."

"Jack?" she smiled.

"Yeah."

"My husband is Jack too."

"Are they your daughters?" he asked, pointing down to the water.

"Yeah. My girls go to Hope Valley now too."

"That's nice. I've almost finished college so I'm on summer break. I better let you get back to you're family. It was nice to see you Mrs Thornton" he put his hand out on her arm, before he walked away.

"You too, Jack" she smiled.

Elizabeth walked back down to where Jack was watching her with the girls.

"Let's go home now, girls" Jack said as he tried to get them to finish off. They began complaining and moved at the pace of snails.

"Come on, Rip's waiting to see you all." That got them moving slightly faster.

Jack saw one of the men approach Elizabeth. Jack watched as she smiled and laughed with him.

The man pointed down to him and the girls and Elizabeth nodded. Jack watched in frustration as the man touched her arm before moving away. What the hell, Beth?

"We're leaving now, girls" he snapped as he went to grab the last bag. He turned back to them. "Now!"

His tone snapped them to attention and they quickly ran up behind him. They met Elizabeth half way back to the car where she tried to take a bag off Jack.

"I've got it" he snapped at her. Her eyes went wide when she saw his reaction. She fell in beside Eve and took her bucket and spade, as well as her hand, and lead her back to the car.

Jack cleaned off Halley and Gracie's feet before letting them climb through the car.

He went around to the driver's seat and waited for Elizabeth to hand him the keys.

They drove home in silence.

Jack stayed in the car, while Elizabeth helped the girls out of the car. She knew something was wrong with him all stemming from that student at the lake.

The girls traipsed into the house, while Elizabeth went around to Jack's open door.

"What's going on Jack? Why the silent treatment?" she said.

He turned his legs around but didn't step down yet. She could see the hurt look in his eyes.

"Why were you talking to that guy?"

"He was an old student. He came up to say hello."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Jack Bowman. He was in sixth grade when I started. I can't believe he remembered me."

"You are not an easy person to forget."

Elizabeth cocked her head to the side trying to read his expression. She could see hurt but there was something else she hadn't seen in some time.

"Jack ... are you jealous?"

"I don't have to be jealous to be concerned" he countered quickly.

Elizabeth eased her way between his legs, his eyes at the same height at hers.

"Jack, I'm your wife" she said reaching her hands out to his waist. "Why are you jealous?"

"I don't like other men staring at you" he said quietly, his own hands reaching out to her, pulling her closer into him. She didn't want to admit it but she was glad he felt like this. It meant that he still wanted her.

"You used to be like this early on in our relationship" she said quietly.

"But I changed?"

"Yeah. Just after our honeymoon, I suppose." She moved her hand up to the bottom of his jaw, her palm resting along it, her thumb running slowly across his cheek. She stared into his eyes.

"What fixed it?"

Elizabeth laughed nervously. "I would've thought that was obvious."

"Are you going to explain?"

"I am not detailing what happened on our honeymoon. You're just going to have to guess and then wait for those memories to come flooding back." Elizabeth knew she was blushing at that point. Who would have ever thought he could make her so nervous after nine years of marriage.

"Not even a hint?" he grinned at her cheekily.

Elizabeth paused and gave him a sly smile.

"We went to Hawaii. Let's just say we didn't do much sightseeing. You weren't so jealous after we spent time together."

"Oh. I see where this is going" he grinned. "You couldn't resist my devilish good looks. Was that it?"

"Something like that" she said laughing. "I still can't" she said more seriously, as she leant in and kissed him deeply.

"There's no reason to be jealous, Jack. I'm yours. Forever. You know that right?"

"I do now" he said kissing her again.