Chapter 134
Elizabeth turned from the door and walked back to the front of the classroom with a little smirk on her face. "Class are there any other distractions that need to be taken care of before we continue?"
The young men and women turned from the door where they could hear the door knob jiggle and gave Elizabeth all of their attention.
"I take it by your silence that we are all good?"
"Yes ma'am." All the students stated at the same time.
Jack smiled and walked behind his wife as she was studying the class. He discreetly and gently patted her on the bottom as he walked behind her.
"Chief…" She stated in a warning tone.
"Does anyone have a question or a thought they would like to explore?" Jack asked as he tried to hide his grin.
…
After finishing their lunch, the babies were looking very tired. To be honest, Adam and Charlette were getting tired as well. Keeping up with seven month old babies were exhausting.
"Why don't we take these two back to the hotel room and let them nap." Charlette stated. "That way they will be rested when Jack and Elizabeth are done today."
"That sounds perfect." Exhaled a tired Adam. "Maybe we can rest too."
"You always have the best ideas."
"Let's go woman. It's nap time for the young ones and the old ones."
…
Jack and Elizabeth finished the last session of the day just after three thirty. They opened the floor for any thoughts or questions over the material that was covered for the day.
Trent slowly raised his hand. "Mrs. Thorton, Chief Thorton, may I ask a question concerning both of your interactions in each other's career?"
"I'm sorry?" Elizabeth asked.
"I understand through your material today that you are a school teacher. Yet, you were so involved in the capture of a person no one knew about. Then with Chief Thorton's time with the school board in Oklahoma City a few weeks ago and his work in the school system. Is there a conflict between you two working in each other's careers since you two are married?"
Jack looked at Elizabeth and she did the same. They both smiled and Elizabeth nodded to her husband.
"Well." Jack began. "I wanted a way to help the community. My mentor, Chief Bill Avery, always told me to uphold the law but to remember that I am working with the person in front of me. We began the programs in school to help the kids and teens. When they grow up, many of them would grow up to be better citizens because of those programs. It's a long term effect, but a good one."
"Yes." Elizabeth jumped in. "Chief Thorton always says it for the kids, but I honestly believe it's more because of the man he is and not because he is the chief."
"To answer your question, Trent." Jack cut in. "I work in the school system along with SRO John Henry. He is the front man for the programs. He is the difference maker."
"You're too humble Chief." Elizabeth smiled knowing how true that statement truly is. "I helped when my husband asked me too. It was just a thought I had, and he ran with it."
"It's a little more than that, sweetheart." He smirked at her. "She brought some ideas to the table that was very beneficial. Ideas that I didn't think of, and they were very helpful."
"You would have eventually thought of them." Elizabeth smiled to the classes' laughter.
"I don't know about that. If nothing else, you saved me a lot of time and effort. Her ideas may not have been the very thing that led to the arrest of Jimmy and Miranda, but they were very influential in bringing us to them. We arrested a group of four armed men in the middle of a huge drug shipment and the arrest of a woman who was the head of a drug cartel that no one knew about without a single gunshot from either side. All with the ideas my wife gave me."
"So, there's no jealousy there?"
"Trent, when you don't care who receives the credit, great things can happen."
"Yes." Elizabeth nodded with agreement. "Not only with the arrests, but there are also numerous young men and women who have been helped with the school programs. Great things really can happen when we work together without the pride of wanting the recognition."
"Thanks sweetheart." Smirked Jack. "That was tomorrow's closing point."
She curled her lips at him and scrunched up her nose at his words. "I think Mr. Trent and the young men and women here are smart enough to catch onto you little plan, Chief Thorton."
The whole group, along with the instructors in the back of the room, laughed at the exchange.
"We will be discussing the arrest of Jimmy and Miranda tomorrow during our sessions. And since Mrs. Thorton already told you the most important aspect of this whole thing, I hope you all will come back tomorrow." Jack stated, purposefully not looking at his wife.
"That's enough from you, Chief Thorton." Elizabeth sassed with her teacher face and with her hand on her hip. She couldn't hide the smile that was on her face. She was loving the banter back and forth. So was everyone else in the room.
"Alright cadets. Please change into your PTs and meet at the obstacle course in fifteen minutes." Special Agent Gibbs bellowed out from the back of the room.
The instructors stayed an extra twenty minutes to just chat with Jack and Elizabeth. They were impressed with them both. Jack really knew what he was doing as the Chief of Hope Valley. They were impressed with that fact alone, but they were also impressed with his age. They were also impressed with Elizabeth. While she didn't have a police background, she was very important with this case. The instructors were just wanting to spend a few minutes with them.
…
Frank and James were sitting at Frank's kitchen table when Abagail walked into the house and in the kitchen.
"Hey, what are you two doing?"
"We were about to talk about potential plans for the church."
"Oh. I'm sorry to interrupt."
"You are not interrupting. Actually, I would prefer for you to join us."
Abagail smiled knowing her husband wanted her opinion on the new church building.
"Hey, did you talk with Mary?"
"I did." Abagail stated as she pulled out three water bottles for everyone. "She accepted."
"That's great news, sweetheart."
Abagail explained to James when she saw his confused expression. He smiled as she explained and congratulated her for the business doing so well.
"So, what have you got for us." Frank turned the discussion back to the thoughts of the church building.
James turned his laptop so everyone could see it. "Now, this is a very first attempt at the new building. Everything can change. This is just something to get the discussion started. Nothing here is hard set on anything." James spent the next ten minutes going through the plans on the screen.
Frank's head was swimming a little with all the information. He was grateful James was taking his time to explain everything.
"I like the ease of the steel building, but to be honest, I don't like the inside look of it in the sanctuary."
"Yes. It kind of looks like a big box store." Abagail added.
"We can certainly change that. We can add windows in the sanctuary and drywall the walls and the ceiling in there. That will give more of a brick and mortar feel than a big box building."
"That's great. The gym area would be fine with the beams showing."
"That will save you some money." James stated.
"James, before we get too wrapped up with this, we need to discuss finances."
James nodded his head.
"While the church is healthy, it is not wealthy. I'm not sure if we can afford this size of this type of building. This building is almost three times the size building we have now."
"There are ways of making the building very nice without making it too pricey. Plus, we will not make any money on this."
"What do you mean?" Frank asked confused.
"We are only going to charge you for building materials and labor. A steel building is a little more affordable. We can watch what we add to make sure it fits financially doable."
"Wait. What do you mean you will not be making any money on this?"
"We will not be making any money on this project."
"James, you can't lose money on this project."
"We won't be."
"James." Frank used his pastoral voice.
"Pastor, we will charge you for materials and labor only. With that paid, we will break even. You get your building at its best possible price and we don't lose any money with my employees being paid."
"But you won't make any money."
"True, but we won't lose money either. Plus, my employees will be busy with work and making their normal salary."
"That just doesn't sound right."
"Pastor." James stated. "I attend church there. You and Abagail have been nice to me and V. You will be dedicating our baby."
"James." Frank began.
"Frank, if you would like to go with someone else, I will not be offended. However, you will be paying about thirty percent more through their fees. Now, my competitors do a good job, but they don't match our standards."
"I know. I have been told."
"Great. Now, you save money, and I don't lose money. Plus, my employees stay busy, and they make their normal salary. It's a win win for all of us."
…
"Come on Jack. I'm missing my babies." Elizabeth stated with determination pulling him toward the door."
"Our babies." He clarified.
"Fine, our babies. I miss them."
"Maybe this is a good thing, being away from them. This will help you in a few weeks when you go back to work."
"Yeah." She whispered.
"Have you changed your mind about going back to work?"
"No. I miss teaching school. Today showed me how much I miss it, but…" Her voice trailed off.
"You will miss my babies?"
"Our babies." She corrected him. "Yeah, I'm going to miss them."
"Well, the daycare will take great care of them and so will ma and Adam."
"Yeah, that makes me feel better. Her and Adam will have them for two days and day care for three days."
Jack squeezed her hand. "Let's go, we have babies to see."
…
"Tom. Tom!" Julie raised her voice to get Tom's attention.
"I'm in the living room. Is there anything you need?"
"Tom, I think something may be wrong."
"What do you mean?"
"I think I need to go to the hospital."
Tom jumped up so fast that his laptop landed on the floor. He ran toward his wife noticing the terrified look on her face. "What's wrong?" He stated in a raised voice.
"I'm not sure."
Tom picked up his wife and carried her to the car as fast as he could. He didn't know what was happening. He has never been this scared in his entire life.
Tom slid to a stop in the parking lot in front of the ER doors. There was a nurse with a wheelchair that was walking into the ER when she heard the tires roaring. Tom jumped out of the car and yelled for the nurse as he went to Julie's door.
"There's something wrong with my wife! She's pregnant!"
The nurse immediately changed direction and helped Julie into the wheelchair. "You park the car and come to the admission desk. They will ask you a couple of questions and then they will take you back to your wife's room."
"I'm not leaving her!"
"Sir, you need to move your car and give the hospital your wife's information. Or would you like for your wife to do all of that?"
Tom stared at the nurse trying to focus on what she was saying. "Sir, we need to help your wife."
"Yes!"
"Great, move the car and give the hospital her information."
Tom's attention turned toward his wife when Julie captured his hand. "Tom, park the car and give the admission's desk what they need. Then come to me."
Tom nodded and watched as the nurse took his wife through the ER waiting room area and through the door.
…
Jack and Elizabeth walked through the lobby of their hotel holding hands. The day was a good day professionally, but they were missing their babies. They wanted to spend some time with them before dinner. When the elevator doors closed, Elizabeth tugged on his arm lightly. When he turned to look at her, she had her head tilted just a little to kiss him. His smile grew as he slowly leaned in to kiss his wife.
"I love you, Mrs. Thorton."
"I love you, Mr. Thorton."
She noticed Jack's smirk and gave him a questioning look. "What?"
Jack slightly pushed Elizabeth to the back wall of the elevator. She smiled when her back pressed against the wall. Jack leaned a little of his weight against her and was just a couple of inches from her lips but didn't do or say anything for a few seconds. He leaned in and whispered. "I loved it when you called me Chief Thorton." His smile continued to grow.
"A little proud of yourself, aren't you?"
Elizabeth felt his chest grow out a little from his joy. "I'll give you everything I have if you call me Chief Thorton." He flirted.
She made sure she pushed herself a little closer to him so he could feel her. "Jack, I already have everything you own." She gave him the most flirty look she had. She leaned up to give him a kiss. She laughed when the doors opened, and an older couple stepped onto the elevator. Jack jumped back as fast as he could, but it wasn't fast enough.
"Oh, we're sorry. I thought the elevator was going down."
"That's fine. We get off on the next floor, then it will go down." Elizabeth smiled at the couple.
While Jack didn't say anything, his chest was still puffed out and his smile never left his face.
…
Tom gave the admission all of Julie's information. Tom walked into Julie's room with a scared expression all over his face. Julie was laying in bed and a doctor and a nurse was standing beside her. He knew they were in the middle of a discussion.
"You must be Mr. Thorton." The doctor asked.
"I am."
"Great. I was telling your wife that I am afraid that she is dehydrated. That caused her to have cramps. We still want to have an ultrasound done just to make sure we are correct, but I am pretty confident she is just dehydrated."
"Cramps?"
"Yes. Cramps can be very painful and even more scary."
A nurse rolled an ultrasound machine in as the doctor was speaking. An older nurse smiled as she prepared the machine and then Julie. The doctor sat down on the edge of the bed and began running the wand over her belly.
"Well, let's see what we have…oh…"
"Oh?" Asked Julie and Tom at the same time.
"Have you experienced morning sickness?"
"I have. I have experienced regular bouts with it over the last three weeks."
"And your water consumption?"
"Not enough, evidently."
"Well, I think we have found out why?"
"The dehydration?" Tom asked.
"Well…yes. That is part of it."
"Ok…So, what's the other part?"
"The other parts." The doctor smiled.
"Parts?" A confused Julie asked.
"Well, baby A and baby B."
"Baby A." Whispered Julie.
"Baby B." Whispered Tom. "How is that possible?"
"Well," The doctor and nurse smiled. "You are having twins."
"Twins." Squealed Julie.
Tom stared at the doctor completely confused. "Twins?" He finally asked.
…
Jack opened the door to an empty hotel room. Elizabeth walked to the door that joined their room with Adam and Charlette. She opened the door when she noticed it was unlocked. She stopped when she took a step into the room. She immediately pulled out her phone and quickly took a picture. She turned to wave for Jack to join her. As Jack walked over, she sent the picture to her mother.
Charlette was laying on the right side of the bed on her side facing the middle of the mattress. Adam on the left facing Charlette on his side. In the middle were the two little ones. Everyone was sound asleep. Charlette had her hand resting on the stomach of Beth and Adam had his on TJ's tummy. Both babies were very protected.
"I think they wore each other out today." Jack whispered.
"I believe you may be right. Have you seen anything cuter than that?"
"I have…each time you sent me a picture of you three laying down together." Jack smiled at the memories of all the pictures she sent him.
"You're a silly man. Why don't we order delivery and just spend the evening in the room?"
"That sounds great."
The young couple walked back into their hotel room but left the adjoining door open. Elizabeth googled what was close by and ordered them all their favorites from a local restaurant. They were promised their food in forty five minutes.
"We have a little bit of time before food is delivered." Elizabeth stated as she sat down beside her husband on the little couch.
Jack patted his thigh asking for her to lay her head down. When she did, he instantly began to run his fingers through her hair and lightly run his fingernails on her head. "How do you think today went?"
She sighed at his affection. "I thought it went well except that Zach guy."
"Yeah. He was persistent."
"He was." She laughed.
"What was the laugh for?"
"I can't believe he actually thought I would give in to him."
"You are a beautiful woman."
"A woman who is completely in love with her husband."
"And I am forever grateful for that."
They spent the next few minutes discussing the sessions for tomorrow and talking about the babies. No matter what was going on in their conversations, the babies were always a topic that was discussed. They just began talking about their family when Jack cell phone vibrated.
"Huh…that's Tom."
"Really?" Asked a surprised Elizabeth.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Jack answered the phone on speaker.
"Well, we are at the hospital." Tom answered.
Elizabeth quickly raised her head when she heard the statement.
"Julie was experiencing some pain and we came to the ER."
"Is she ok? The baby?" Elizabeth and Jack asked together.
"Their fine. Julie is dehydrated and that caused some cramping. It scared us both and we came in to see the doctor."
"I'm thankful she and the baby are doing well."
"Yeah. She just has to drink a lot more water. We have some news for you two."
"Well, I think you gave us some good news. What's up?" Jack asked.
"Well…we had an ultrasound performed and we received some news."
"Some news. Tom, I thought you said the baby and Julie is fine? What's wrong?" Jack and Elizabeth looked confused between each other.
"Nothing is wrong, but we did find out something about the babies."
"The babies…" Whispered Elizabeth.
"Yeah…the babies. Baby A and Baby B." Tom smiled a smile of nervousness and joy.
"Julie! Are you having twins?" Shouted Elizabeth.
"We are!" Shouted Julie.
Julie and Elizabeth commandeered their husbands' phones so they could talk. Jack was shocked at how fast his wife could talk. He was having trouble understanding everything she was saying.
…
Zach was allowed in the last day's sessions by Elizabeth with a few conditions. First, he had to apologize to the class for his attitude and disruptions. She also wanted a ten page report given to his instructor covering the two days of sessions. She wanted to make sure he understood the material that was covered. Agent Gibbs also placed two stipulations on his return with Elizabeth's approval. First, he had to write an apology to the class and to Chief and Mrs. Thorton. Secondly, he was to sit in a chair all by himself in the corner of the room and remain perfectly silent. If he wanted to be noticed, then the instructor wanted him to be noticed.
At the end of the last day's session, Jack and Elizabeth opened the floor for the last question and answer session. Jack and Elizabeth spend the last session going over the highlights of the previous sessions. Elizabeth requested the session as a review. Telling Jack that it was important to go over the important aspects again once everything was laid out. It would help tie up loose ends and bring everything together. Jack quickly understood what she meant. The questions were becoming more in depth as the young men and women pieced everything together.
A young lady spoke up with her question. She has been quite the whole two days, but Elizabeth knew the lady was paying attention.
"What was the one thing you learned from this entire situation?"
Elizabeth nodded toward her husband for him to answer the question.
"It takes everyone to perform your job. You certainly have a role to play, but you can only do your job if you have others helping along the way. Emma was immensely important in her bits of information. She always had something to give me. They didn't seem important at the time, but when we learned something else, it would connect to her information. Then that would lead to another course and so on and so on. Lee was instrumental in his role. He connected a lot of the dots. He had a different viewpoint and that was essential. I shared most of my theories with the retire Police Chief, Bill Avery. He was a great sounding board for me. The state police were flawless in their arrest of Jimmy and his crew in the barn. Then, most importantly, Elizabeth shared her thoughts on Miranda. Her statements made me think and realize that I needed to look at it in a different light."
"So, you don't think you could have done it yourself?"
"Let's say if I could have done it alone. It would have taken me much longer and many more people would have been hurt because of it. By working with other people and letting them do their jobs, we were able to apprehend a criminal no one knew about. It would have taken me years to do what several people did in a few months. You are important to your case, but you are not an island. As you begin your journey with the FBI, don't make the mistake of thinking you are the end all of everything. Don't be too proud to have a conversation with someone. Listen to them and bounce ideas off them. You will quickly realize that they will bring ideas you haven't thought of."
After a few more minutes of questions, Special Agent Gibbs stood and walked to the front of the class. "Before I let you go, what is the one thing you would implore the class to understand before you leave today? Mrs. Thorton let's begin with you."
"Well, my role in this whole thing is rather small. My husband and his employees did most of the lifting. My advice to you as you enter your profession is twofold. First, listen. Listen without forcing your opinion. You need to listen to the facts before you can vocalize your opinion. You listen to learn. Second, once you have your viewpoint, don't be afraid to share it. Chief Thorton asked for my opinions. He didn't accept every opinion I had, but I shared them. Some were helpful and some wasn't. Don't be afraid to be wrong. Basically, learn what you need to learn and then share your thoughts."
"That's great advice. I have learned that over the years. I only wished I learned that sitting in your seats today." Gibbs stated pointing to the class. "Chief Thorton, what would you like to leave the class with?"
"Listen to your gut. I knew something was off when I first met Jimmy, but it was also other things that connected. Don't be afraid to have a conversation with other people. Learn from them, share what you are thinking and defend it. But don't be too prideful in thinking you know everything. Be humble enough to realize you may be wrong."
"That's great advice too." Gibbs stated as the students began to loudly applaud.
Gibbs leaned in toward Jack and Elizabeth. "That is certainly the loudest applause for any speaker we have ever had."
All the students came to the couple and thanked them for their time over the last two days. Each student spent a few minutes talking with each of them. They were grateful for everything.
"Well, I think that was a success." Jack stated looking toward his wife."
"I agree. That was fun."
"We all loved it." Gibbs stated. "They have a lot to think over." He laughed. "Everything you two shared was exactly what we try to teach them. How did you do that?"
"I'm not sure." Jack stated.
"Well, you have made my job a little easier." Another instructor stated. "I have always had trouble getting them to understand the importance of working with others."
"Maybe they'll learn it early on in their careers." Elizabeth smiled.
"So, what do you two have planned for the rest of the day?"
"We are going to enjoy some time with our babies tonight with Jack's parents walking around town. We fly back home tomorrow."
"That sounds exciting. If you have time, you need to visit Frazier's. It's a nice restaurant downtown. There is plenty of shopping and sightseeing around it. It's the best food here."
"And she's not saying that just because her husband owns it. It really is the best food around."
"We'll have to stop by."
"I'll let my husband know you will be there later."
"Thank you."
"If you two have a moment?" Gibbs stated.
"Sure." Jack stated with Elizabeth's nod of approval.
"We greatly enjoyed you two coming to speak with the class. The instructors and I have discussed you two coming back to do this again."
"Well, we haven't talked about it." Jack began.
"I know. If I had even the smallest thought of you two changing careers, we would hire you today."
"Oh, we are happy where we are." Elizabeth stated.
"I figured. However, we would love for you two to come back on a somewhat regular basis to speak with our class. We also wanted to combine a few other classes when you come. Of course, we will pay for your travel and time."
"That's very generous of you. May we get back with you?"
"Sure." Gibbs stated as he handed Jack an envelope. "This is for you two."
"Thank you."
…
"How are you feeling?" Asked Tom for the third time in fifteen minutes.
"I feel like I did the last two times you asked me a few minutes ago." Julie rolled her eyes. Tom was taking this taking care of her to the extreme. Elizabeth warned her about this, but Julie didn't think Tom would do that. Now she was thinking this was a Thorton trait. While she liked that Tom was concerned about her, he was taking this to the extreme.
Tom stood staring at his wife waiting for her to really answer his question. He was unrelenting in this. "Well…?"
"Tom, I don't know what to tell you." She huffed.
"Jack said it must be a Thatcher trait to be stubborn."
"Elizabeth said it must be a Thorton trait to be overbearing." She matched her husband's attitude.
They stood in front of each other staring for a few seconds. Julie began to grin when she noticed her husband left corner of his mouth begin to move upward in a smirk.
"I'm sorry." They both said at the same time.
"You first." Tom stated.
"I'm sorry I was upset with you. I know you are only concerned about us, and you have every right to ask me how I'm feeling."
"Yes, but I shouldn't have asked you so much. I'm sorry. I knew I was over doing it, but I couldn't stop myself."
"That's ok. Ask as much as you want."
"And I need to dial it back a little bit."
"We'll work on it together."
"That sounds like a perfect plan."
While Tom and Julie were a little free spirited, they truly loved each other. When it came to their spouse, they did not let emotion control the conversation. While they would get emotional at times, they always found a way to control it when it was getting out of hand.
"So, how are we going to do this?" Julie asked when she walked into Tom's arms for an embrace.
"Well, like we always have." Tom smiled. "We will do this together. We will have the help of our family."
"True."
Tom let out a loud laugh. "Who would have ever thought that we would have twins when it doesn't run in the family. My brother and your sister have twins. Who would have guessed we would have twins too?"
"I most certainly wouldn't!" Julie Exclaimed. "Vi says she isn't going to the doctors anymore until after delivery because she doesn't want to know." Julie laughed.
"Oh, it would be so weird if they were expecting twins too."
…
"This one is all changed and ready to go out with Adam and Ma." Jack stated as he walked out of the bedroom into the little sitting area of the hotel room. "Give me that one and I'll do the same."
"Are you ok with us putting the check from today into the savings account?"
"Sure. You control the money. You do what you want with it."
"Jack, because I run the check book, doesn't mean you shouldn't know what's going on with our finances."
"You know…that's true. I don't want to do our finances because you are so good at it, but I should know what's happening with it."
"Good. I placed what would have been our house payment into a savings account. It is six months of our expenses. We have an emergency fund. Once those two things were set, we invest the money we don't use for our monthly expenses."
"Wow! You really are good at this."
"Why don't we use the money from things like this and use it for our vacation each year? We won't use our savings or investments and we can go on vacation with this. If we don't have a speaking engagement or don't have enough, we will still budget money for a vacation and just use that." Elizabeth stated as she placed Beth in her father's arms for him to change her.
"That sounds great. If we do have a speaking engagements that covers a vacation, we will just invest the money we were saving for a vacation."
"That sounds like a plan." Elizabeth reached down and looked at her cell phone when it chirped at a text message.
"Perfect. I was asked to give my thoughts on a case and was told I would be compensated for it."
"That's good. We'll place it in the vacation budget."
"Great. At the end of each year, we plan our vacation and then use that money. If any is left over, we just invest it or save it for a vehicle or something."
"That's a great idea Jack." Elizabeth smirked when she read the text from Julie. "Hey Jack…" Elizabeth stated as Jack was walking toward the bedroom to change Beth.
"Yeah, Nani." He stated looking over his shoulder but not stopping.
"Do you think it's a Thatcher sister trait to be stubborn?"
"Absolutely." He stated without looking back at his wife.