Elizabeth sat on the couch downstairs, sipping a glass of wine. She wondered if she had been too hard on Hunter. He had disobeyed but he hadn't spoken the whole ride home or when they tucked him in. He looked sad and it hurt seeing him like that. What would have hurt worse was losing him to Tolliver. That's where her reaction came from and that's how she justified grounding him.

"Mama?"

She put her wine glass down on the side table. "Baby, why are you up? It's very late."

"Do you still love me?"

"What? Of course I do, Hunt." She pulled him close so he was standing in front of her, between her knees. "Do you know why I grounded you?"

"I disobeyed," he said with a sniffle.

"Yes. That's right. Do you know why Dad and I made the rule about staying where we can see you?"

"To keep me safe?"

"Yes." She picked him up and cradled him in her arms, holding him close. "I love you so much. I'm so glad you are mine forever." She ran her fingers through his curls. "But not all people that are around us when we are at school or at the store or on the street are good people."

"Like Mr. Tolliver?"

"Yeah. Like him."

"I'm sorry I scared you, Mama. I didn't mean it."

"I know. But when you disobey me or Dad, you have to know that you will be punished."

"Like no Saturday cartoons?"

"Yeah."

"How long?"

"A week. Next Sunday, you are off the hook, ok, Hunt?"

"Ok."

"Ok, now off to bed."

"Can I stay here with you?" Keeping him near meant safety.

"For a little bit."

….

A week later, Elizabeth took a week off work and she, Hunter, and Jack went on their first trip away as a family.

"I'll put your worms on your hook for you, Mama," Hunter offered generously from his booster seat in the back.

"Thank you, Hunt. I'd really appreciate that." She shuddered and wiggled her fingers.

"Hmm. Worms gross out the tough, strong cop?" Jack teased.

"I'm still a girl. Worms are disgusting Jack. They are dirty and long and slimy." She made a face and he laughed.

"You're so beautiful," he said, grabbing her hand.

"Mama, Dad let me drive the boat on our man trip and I did good! Maybe he will let you drive it too!"

She smiled at his term of "man trip" but also felt a bit scared. "You let him drive? He's six! I'm pretty sure that's not legal." she whispered loudly.

"He was on my lap, babe. Ok, you need to relax. Get out of police officer mode and into wife and mother mode."

"You do know that telling me to relax has the opposite effect, right?"

Jack squeezed her hand and kissed it softly. "Hon, this is supposed to be fun. Just you, me, and Batman Jr. back there. We are getting away from everything that is stressful. No phones, no tv, no work. Just us. Doesn't that sound good?"

She looked back at Hunter who was now watching a movie on her phone, earbuds in his ears. "No Tolliver. Jack, I just want him behind bars. Until he is, I'm always going to be on alert. It's how I was trained."

"I know. But, I am worried about you."

"Please don't be. I'm fine. I'm going to try my best to forget about Tolliver for the next week."

….

An hour later, they were at their campsite by the water in French Creek State Park, ready for an adventure. Jack opened up the hatchback and started unloading. He moved a large blue cooler first and then he took out the fishing poles and handed them to Elizabeth. As he handed them to her, he pulled her in for a kiss. "I love you."

"I love you too." She kissed him back and started moving things from the car to the site.

Hunter watched and moved little things and finally it was time to set up the tent.

Elizabeth watched as she used a hand pump to inflate an air mattress for her and Jack. Hunter insisted he was going to sleep only in his sleeping bag because that's how Bruce Wayne would do it.

About thirty minutes later, the two room tent was up and sturdy. "Wow! Dad, this is so big."

"It is. What do you think, Beth?"

"It looks great." She finished inflating the air mattress and picked it up. "Let's get this inside and go find the bathrooms."

Jack was glad he chose this campground because it had showers, bathrooms, and a pool. He figured Elizabeth would enjoy the first two for sure.

Elizabeth and Hunter walked off hand in hand to find the bathrooms and he stayed behind to finish setting up camp.

"Mama?"

"Yes, Hunt?"

"I think is gonna be fun, don't you?"

"Of course."

He skipped along next to her, without a care in the world. "Why does Mr. Tolliver scare you?"

She thought for a moment. "Babe, there are reasons that I can't tell you right now. Sometimes because of my work, I can't give reasons."

"But, I heard Dad say you aren't on the case. So that means it isn't a part of your job, right?"

"Technically yes. But to keep you as safe as possible, you need to trust me, ok? If I think there is something you need to know, I'll tell you."

"Ok." He shrugged and followed her into the bathrooms.

"You go in that one and I'll go in here, ok?"

"Yes, Mama."

A few moments later, they washed their hands and then walked over to the little store part of the campground.

"Can we have hotdogs for dinner?"

"Yep, Dad brought them and sticks to cook them on." She picked up a bottle of root beer, handing it to Hunter, and then a bottle of sparkling wine for her and Jack to drink by the campfire. They could make it romantic even though Hunter was with them.

….

"Home sweet home, Mrs. Coulter," Lee said as they walked into their house that evening.

"Yes. Don't get me wrong, sweetheart, our honeymoon was wonderful, but it feels good to be home."

"Six days in Maui, surrounded by lush tropical plants and ocean breezes, with my gorgeous wife in my arms. I couldn't have been happier." He kissed her sweetly and carried their bags up the stairs.

Rosemary followed him up the stairs and into their bedroom. It was certainly different sharing a bedroom with someone, a man in particular. It was a good different. Wonderful even. She just wasn't used to him being there yet.

At certain points she felt uncomfortable, such as when he just walked in the bathroom while she was showering. She had almost screamed the first day it happened. Then she remembered, he was her husband. He was allowed to be in there.

Lee had noticed she was acting differently, thinking perhaps she was just getting used to the new situation. But now he was worried. She didn't seem herself.

He sat on the bed and patted the spot next to him. "Come here, sweetheart. I think we should talk."

"Ok. About what?" She joined him on the bed.

"Are you happy? Being married to me?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I feel like maybe you're uncomfortable being with me. You change in the bathroom. You wrap yourself up in a long bathrobe, covering as much skin as possible. You look away when I'm dressing."

Rosie looked down at their hands and blushed. "Honestly, Lee, I think something may be wrong with me."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, Lee! I am uncomfortable. I don't know why! I love you with all of my heart and I want to be married and have lots of babies and I know that certain things come with that…its just hard. Maybe there is something wrong with me. Maybe you should have married someone else." She stood and wiped her cheeks. "I'll let you off the hook if you changed your mind. Jack says I'm high maintenance. I guess it's true."

Lee stood and wrapped his arms around her, just holding her. "Now you listen to me, Rosemary Coulter. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. I married exactly who I wanted to marry and I don't want to be off the hook. I'm yours and you're mine, forever."

"You didn't say anything about me being high maintenance."

"Well, who am I to argue with Jack?"

She laughed and hugged him tighter. "Lee, I'm sorry. I wanted our honeymoon to be perfect."

"It was perfect." He pulled back and kissed her slowly, gradually deepening the embrace until they needed to breathe. "I wouldn't change a thing. Except the fact that we are standing here fully clothed instead of what we could be doing."

"I'm nervous."

"No need to be, sweetheart. It's only me. We've done this before." She let out a giggle and smiled.

"I love you, you know that?"

"I do. Now let's pretend we are still on our honeymoon. What do you say?"

Rosie walked over to the window to close the blinds but something caught her eye. "Lee. Come here."

"What is it?" She closed the blinds and opened one slat.

"Someone is outside Jack and Elizabeth's. Lee, do something!"

"Are they home?"

"No, they are camping, remember?"

Lee pulled out his cell and kept watching while Rosie shut off the lights. "Chief, Coulter here. Do we still have an unmarked car outside the Thornton's?"

"No. They are on vacation so I told the men to stand down. Why?"

"Well, sir, they must have been waiting for that to happen because I see a man, dressed in dark clothes, trying to jimmy their back door open."

"I'm calling for back up. Don't enter unless you have cover, got it Coulter?"

"Yes, sir."

Lee hung up, walked over to the closet and opened his safe, pulled out his gun and stuck it in the waistband of his jean's.

"Lee, what are you doing? You can't go in there! You're my husband! I don't want to lose you!"

"Rosie! Calm down. You told me not two minutes ago to do something. This is me doing that. I promised Chief I wouldn't go in without backup and I'm telling you the same." He kissed her soundly. "I love you. Now stay here and watch through the window."

Lee stood pressed up against the back of his house in the shadows. He needed to stay out of sight.

About ten minutes later, he saw Davidson pull up in the unmarked car. He waved him over. "One guy as far as I know. He's inside. I think about six foot, 180. Mask. I don't know if he had a weapon. Assume he does."

"Sir, I'll go in."

"Negative. I want this guy, Davidson. Cover me."

Lee moved across the yard and through the fence gate. Then he crouched low and hurried over to a window to see inside, his gun ready.

"Ok, Tolliver," he whispered. "Its you and me. No more games."

He could see movement inside but he had no idea what the guy could be looking for. He waited until Tolliver left the room to make his move. He slid the sliding door open silently and slipped inside.

He listened, grateful he knew the layout of the home. It sounded as if he was in the basement. Must be looking for an office. Lee walked slowly to avoid unnecessary creaking of floorboards and then headed down the stairs, one by one.

When he reached the bottom he walked over to the office, counted to three, and spoke. "Ok, Tolliver! You're surrounded. It's all over." Lee peeked in the doorway just as a lamp came hurtling through. "Put your hands up!" he yelled.

Lee watched as the guy threw everything he could get his hands on and then leapt across the door, knocking Lee down.

Lee used his strength against Tolliver and got up on top of him, straddling his legs, aiming his gun at his head. He ripped off the mask. "Who are you?! Where's Tolliver?"

Lee shook his head in disgust and disbelief. He pulled out his phone and called Davidson. "Get some cuffs down here, in the basement."

….

Back at the campground…

Jack smiled at Elizabeth as he joined her by the fire. "Hey."

"Hi. Is he asleep?"

"Almost." He put his arm around her and leaned back against the log. "Having fun so far?"

"Yeah. You were right. This is exactly what we need."

He nodded and kissed her gently. "You look beautiful tonight."

"Thanks. Do you want some sparkling wine?"

He reached for a cup and she poured the fizzy liquid into it. "Thank you." He sipped it and winced.

"Yeah, you can tell it only cost five bucks," she said with a laugh.

"That's ok. I really just want to make more s'mores." He reached for the bag and took out the ingredients.

He held the marshmallow in the flame until the perfect time and then squished it between the chocolate and Graham crackers. "Yum," he said as he took a bite.

"Can I have some?" He held the treat up to her lips and watched as she took a good size bite. The marshmallow and melted chocolate ended up on her lips as she chewed so he leaned over and helped himself, pulling her closer, kissing her passionately. "Now I see why these are your favorite," she said blushing. "Holy moly."

"You're my favorite." His voice deep with love.

"That goes both ways, love." She met his lips half way with another unbelievable kiss. It was if the world began to spin a little faster.

"Now it's my turn to say 'wow'." Jack grinned mischievously at her when they finally parted.

After a few minutes of enjoying the crackling fire, Elizabeth sighed in Jack's embrace.

"What is it, Beth?"

"Just thinking."

"About?"

"Nate Tolliver. I just don't get him." She sighed.

"Babe, why are you thinking about him now?"

"I told you, I can't just shut it off. I did for a little while today but right now…"

"Okay." Jack sat up a little more. "Let's talk about it then. If it's bothering you we should."

She loved this man.

"Okay, so Tolliver never wanted to be in Hunter's life. According to the records he signed away parental rights from the get-go. So why now? Why this?"

"Jamie must have a hold on him. Or maybe… maybe seeing his son grow up and be happy is making him regret his decision."

"Maybe." She huffed. "How did our sweet little boy come from a vile man like Nate Toliver?"

"Mom? Dad?" A worried little voice spoke from just outside the tent. They both jumped up from where they'd been reclining against the log.

"Hunter, what are you doing up?" Elizabeth gasped.

"I couldn't sleep." It was dark, but even in the dark they could see the fear painted on his little face. "Is it true?"

"Is what true?" Jack asked, praying their little boy hadn't just heard their conversation.

"Is Mr. Tolliver really my dad?"

Elizabeth looked at Jack before speaking, "Hunter, sweetie…"

"No!" He yelled. "You said we were a family. Forever!"

"We are, love."

"But… but… I don't want to go with him." He looked at Jack. "You said no more visits at the foster place. I didn't like them!"

"Hunter, listen…" Jack stopped as his little boy ran off. "Hunter!" It didn't take more than a few strides to catch the boy. Jack picked him up and held him tight to his chest. He fought Jack at first then gave in slightly, molding more to the contour of Jack's chest.

"Don't give me to him. Please! I'll be good! I won't cut my hair, I'll eat my broccoli, I'll never ask for anything ever again just please don't make me go." He hugged Jack as tight as his little arms would hold. His tears dampening Jack's shoulder.

"Son, listen to me. I mean really listen, okay?" Hunter nodded. "You are my son. Always. I am your dad. That beautiful, loving woman is your mom. We are a family. Forever and ever."

"But Mr. Tolliver…"

"Mr. Tolliver is not going to take you from us. Ever. Your mom, Uncle Lee and all their friends at the police department are making sure of that. Same as me."

"Hunter, love," Elizabeth knelt down beside her boys. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Okay," he sniffled.

"You and your daddy, are the best thing that's ever happened to me. I was never a girly girl, but I secretly always wanted to be a mom. I have a great mom. I wanted to be one just like her."

"Grandma is really cool." Hunter agreed.

"She is, you're right. So when I met your dad and you, my dream came true. I'm a mom. Even better I'm your mom. I'm not going to let anyone take away my dream."

Hunter hugged them both tight. "I don't have to go with him?'

"Nope. The adoption was final. You're a Thornton. You belong with us."

"Good." Hunter wiped his face with his sleeve. "Mom, Dad, I'm sorry I threw a tantrum."

"Bud, we get it. You were scared. This is hard stuff even for grown ups like your mom and me. Just try talking to us next time, okay?"

He nodded. "Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't he tell me?"

"I can't speak for him, but we were just trying to take care of you. We didn't want you to worry more than you needed to."

Hunter let out a huge shaky breath. "I think I'm okay now but could you stay with me till I fall asleep?"

"Of course!" Elizabeth smiled.

"I'll put out the fire and I'll be right in too."

Hunter took Elizabeth's hand and lead her into the tent. She tucked him back into his sleeping bag before crawling into hers.

"Goodnight, Mommy. I love you."

"I love you too, sweetheart." She kissed his head and wrapped him up in her arms as best as she could. She didn't know how, but when they returned to Philly, she was ending this drama with Nate Tolliver, once and for all.

We've heard you loud and clear and we agree, its time for Nate to go! Tune in next week and see how it all plays out.