By the end of March, Jack had finished his first year of nursing school. He had done very well, including that dreaded Power Point presentation.

Joey and Julie's twins had turned one and everything seemed to be going smoothly in everyone's lives until Jack's truck broke down and died.

He was on the side of the road on his way home from Billings and it just stopped running. Well, the thing had over two hundred fifty thousand miles on it and had been acting like it was on its last legs for a while so he wasn't all that surprised.

He dialed Elizabeth.

"Jack?"

"Hon, my truck broke down."

"What happened?"

"I think it's just dead. I guess I have put off getting something else for long enough."

"Where are you?"

"On Spencer, about twenty miles from home. Can you come get me?"

"Yeah. Let me just get the kids in the car and I will be on my way. Please be careful, Jack."

"There's very few cars on the road. I'll be ok."

"I love you."

"Love you too. See you soon." Next he called a tow truck and had it hauled to a junk yard. As he waited for the tow truck and Elizabeth, he thought about how they could afford getting another car for him. It should be at least all-wheel drive for the winter. Those weren't cheap.

He thought about leasing like Mike and Julie had done and that was probably their only option until he could get a better job which was at least a year away.

Jack saw Elizabeth pull up before the tow truck came so he went and sat in her car as they waited.

"So I think our only option is to lease one, like Mike and Julie did," he said.

"Hi, Jack." She smiled sweetly at him.

"Hi." He leaned over and kissed her. "Sorry. I'm worried."

"Hi, Dada!" Fin said from the back.

"Hi, baby."

"It will work out. We will get a different car for you and everything will be just fine."

"How do you know?"

"Because we will do it together. We can get through anything, sweetheart."

The tow truck pulled up then so Jack got back out of the car and paid the guy. He had no more cash. Thank goodness the next day was payday from his paramedic gig.

"Let's go get some lunch," Elizabeth suggested when he hopped back in.

"Well, I'm out of money so unless you have some…"

"Jack, I have cash. It's not a big deal. What's going on?"

"Nothing."

She thought about it as they drove. The truck was his dad's. First Harv passed and now the truck. Poor Jack.

When they pulled into the driveway to the house instead of passing through to Hunter Creek, she slowed down and then stopped. "Honey, that truck lasted a long time."

"Yeah. Dad drove it everywhere. He always told me I could have it."

"I'm sorry. First Harv and now this."

"Yeah." She got out and walked to his side of the car. Instead of grabbing the kids first, she opened his door and hugged him as soon as he stood in front of her. "I feel like he's slipped even further away now."

She pulled back and touched his ring finger where Tom Sr.'s ring was. "Hold on to your memories and all those things he taught you. A piece of him will always be with you, hon."

"Mama!" Fin yelled.

"One minute, baby." She kissed his lips and hugged him one more time. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you too."

"Mama! Joe!"

Elizabeth opened the side door and gasped. Somehow he had unbuckled himself from his car seat and was sitting on the floor eating a snack from the diaper bag.

"Joseph Thomas!" she said in a quiet, yet warning tone. "How did you get out of your seat?" Obviously he couldn't explain in words but she still asked the question. He raised his little hand and offered her a cheeto like thing, a huge dimply grin on his face.

How could she do anything but laugh at the adorable boy? So she did. "Come on, troublemaker. Let's go inside and start lunch." He raised his arms and she picked him up and handed him to Jack.

Then she unbuckled Fin and put her on the ground and grabbed the diaper bag.

"Tubble," Fin said with a nod.

"Yep, Finlea, he is trouble, be we love him, don't we?"

"Yep."

….

"Can we go see Finny, Pop?" Aubrey asked at dinner.

"On Saturday, you're going to spend the night with her."

"I am? What about Luna and Mango?"

"They will be here. Charlotte and I are going to have a date and so we will take care of them for the night."

"What if I get scared?"

"You can always tell Elizabeth or Jack but, baby doll, you have been doing so well. I think you will be just fine."

She wasn't as sure as him but at least she would be with Finny.

Two days later, they dropped her off for her sleepover.

"Bye, sweetheart," Charlotte told her. "Have fun, ok?"

"You're coming back, right?" she asked with tears in her eyes as she clung to Charlotte.

"Honey, we will never leave you behind. We're gonna see you in the morning."
Charlotte kissed the top of her head and held on for one more minute. "I love you, Aubrey."

She nodded and moved on to Bill. "Bye, Pop."

"See you in the morning, Aubrey. Love you."

Fin walked up and grabbed her hand. "Come, Bee, pease?" she begged, using the nickname she had given her.

That made her feel a bit better. Finny was her friend and she would help her have fun and maybe not miss Pop and Charlotte so much.

After dinner, Jack joined the girls on the couch.

"Hi, girls. Are we having fun?"

"Yep!" Fin said, standing up next to him and immediately sticking a bright pink bow in his hair. "Dada pitty."

He chuckled but let her continue. He would honestly let her do anything to him that could be undone if it made her happy.

So, when she and Aubrey came at him with sparkly purple nail polish, he just held out his hands and toes.

Elizabeth walked into the room a half hour later after giving Joey his bath and feeding him. She almost laughed out loud except Fin, Jack, and Aubrey were all asleep on the couch.

He had about a dozen bows and barrettes in his hair in a rainbow of colors.

When she walked in front of the couch to turn the TV off, she noticed his sparkly toes and fingers. "Oh, man I love you," she whispered. The very fact that he allowed them to make him look like that, showed his love for his family and even someone who wasn't quite his family yet.

She took her phone from her pocket and took a few pics and sighed before covering them with a blanket and leaving the room.

She headed into the kitchen to make herself some tea when she heard crying.

She hurried back into the living room.

Jack was holding Aubrey now, trying to console her. "What happened?"

"Bad dream, I think."

"I need Pop!" she cried.

"Shhh, it's ok," Jack told her. Elizabeth texted Bill in the hopes he would call. Instead he skyped her.

"Aubrey, look, honey. Its Pop." Elizabeth handed the phone to her.

"Baby doll, what's wrong?"

"I need you! Please come get me."

"Did you have a bad dream?"

"Yeah and I need you, please, Pop!"

"Ok, sweetheart. We are leaving the restaurant. It's going to be about thirty minutes before we get there but we're coming."

"Drive safe, Pop," Jack told him.

"We will. See you soon. Oh and Jack, that's a nice look for you, son," Bill said, laughing as he hung up.

"Thanks, Pop."

Elizabeth laughed, waking Fin. She looked confused and then saw Jack. "Pitty, Dada." That made Aubrey giggle and Elizabeth giggled harder until they were all laughing.

By the time Bill showed up, Aubrey had decided that she was ok.

"Are you sure, Aubrey?"

"I'm sure. I'm sorry." Bill knelt down and kissed her forehead.

"Don't be sorry, but just remember you are safe here. If you get scared, just tell Beth or Jack."

She nodded and hugged his neck. "Night, Pop."

"Night, baby doll. Love you." He kissed her forehead once more and then left.

….

Elizabeth helped Aubrey get ready for bed while Jack took Fin to go potty.

"How are you doing, sweetie?" Elizabeth asked her as she helped her slip under the covers of the bed in the nursery where Fin now slept.

"Ok."

"Do you want to tell me why you were scared?"

"Bad dream. My daddy….it was scary."

"You know that you are safe here. Jack and I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know. I just think about things sometimes and then I get scared. I don't want my daddy to come back. He wasn't nice to me. I didn't know that people could be so nice until I came here to live. I don't ever want to leave."

"Did you tell Pop and Charlotte that?" Elizabeth heard from Charlotte that her father had been brought up on murder charges. If he was convicted, he would be in prison for life. Chances were, she could stay forever like she wanted.

"No."

"I think you should. They would want to know that."

"Seep Bee!" Fin said, trying to pull herself up on the bed by her friend.

She hadn't ever slept anywhere but her crib so Elizabeth wasn't sure how sleeping in a bed with no sides would work.

Jack laid Fin down next to Aubrey with a pillow next to her and one on the floor just in case.

"Book!" Fin said.

After a story, and the nightlight was on and door propped open, Jack and Elizabeth left the room, leaving their own door unlocked too.

Thankfully there were no more bad dreams that night. Everyone got up in the morning happy and rested.

Jack wore Charlotte's pink ruffle apron, fully clothed of course. He got the desired effect when Aubrey giggled when she saw him.

"Who wants pancakes?" Jack asked from the stove.

"Me! With chocolate chips!" Aubrey boldly declared.

"Chocolate chips?"

"Yeah! Its my favorite and Charlotte's too."

"Well, I guess I need to make them then."

"And whipped cream? And bacon?"

"Absolutely."

….

That afternoon, when Charlotte was taking a nap, Aubrey found Pop on the couch reading.

"Hi, Pop."

He put the book down and peered at her over his glasses. "Hi, baby doll. Are you done playing?"

"Yeah."

He saw the thoughtful look on her face and knew she wanted to say something but didn't know how. "What's on your mind?" He lifted his arm and she slid closer, putting her head on his chest.

"I want to stay here forever," she said in a whisper.

"I want you to stay here forever," he told her, kissing the top of her head.

"You do?"

"Yes. More than anything." He just didn't have a for sure answer on if adoption was possible yet. It usually didn't happen so fast. She had only been with them for a little over three months. The agency he had been in contact with for placing her back in December said that they need to go through different preparation classes which could take at minimum a better part of a year. He hoped they would have more of a concrete answer by Christmas which was still nine months away.

"Can I?"

"I will try my best, Aubrey. For now, let's count our blessings and be thankful for every day we have together, ok?"

That made her nervous. It sounded like she might need to leave at some point. She didn't want to leave! Her daddy was mean and he hid her in closets and told her she talked too much and hardly ever fed her. That wasn't what she wanted!

She wanted Luna and Mango and Pop and Charlotte! She wanted Finny and Joey and Beth and Jack. Pop promised she could learn to ride a horse this summer and learn to swim in the pond. He promised they could go to the zoo and ride on a train.

"I don't want to leave! Please don't make me," she pleaded. "I love you. I want to be with you and Charlotte." Tears were gushing down her cheeks now.

He picked her up and set her on his lap. "Aubrey, sweetie. I'm not making you leave. I just can't promise anything yet about forever. I don't have answers."

Hearing her say "I love you" filled his heart and he would do all he could to keep her with him. Unfortunately, it wasn't only up to him. Quite a few things had to fall into place before they knew for sure.