Author's Note: I told you it'd be up by the end of the week and technically Sunday is the end of the week so I'm even a day early! This chapter actually took me a while since there is a conversation in it at the end that I wanted to get just right. You'll know it when you read it and I really hope I achieved my goal of staying true to the characters and this journey I have taken them on. You can always let me know by hitting that nice little review button!!

Once again (and always)...ENJOY!
~JP

True North
By Jaclyn Parker

"There's nothing half as pleasant as coming home again."
~Margaret Elizabeth Sangster
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Almost a week later, as he walked briskly down the hospital hallway on the way to Carly's room, Jack found himself careening into another solid figure as they came around the corner. Stumbling back, Jack started to apologize and then stopped when he saw that it was Lee who was trying to right himself too.

"Oh, it's you." Jack said and Lee rolled his eyes as he adjusted his lab coat.

"Yeah, don't worry about keeping up with the apology, mate. When I'm done my shift I'll just check myself in for a concussion."

Jack gave a small smirk. "Sorry, guess I wasn't paying attention."

"Any particular reason?" Lee asked and they both started walking again.

"Dr. Maynard is examining Emmy this afternoon to check her progress." Jack said, the small frown on his face the only indication that he was at all worried.

"Ah, I see." Lee said and pushed open the door to Carly's room.

"Hey, you two." Carly said her eyes widening in happiness at the sight of them both. "Double teaming me now?"

Jack went over to kiss her hello on her cheek and then straightened up immediately, as if just realizing that Lee had accompanied him into the room.

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Jack asked and Lee chuckled.

"Well, I consulted with all of Carly's doctors, including the physical therapist this morning." Lee said, holding up Carly's file in his hands. Both Carly and Jack's eyes followed the movement before looking back into his face.

"And…?" Carly said, hesitantly.

"And, you are making an incredibly fast recovery. So fast, in fact, that we've decided you're too healthy to stay here any longer." Lee said, smiling at them. "So you and your daughter are being released Friday afternoon."

"Oh my God, that's amazing!" Jack said and hugged Carly happily.

"I can't believe I get to go home and…" Carly trailed off at the same time that Jack stopped grinning at her. They both turned to Lee with wide eyes and bewildered expressions.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that please?" Carly asked and Lee laughed. He had wondered if they had heard him and when it would sink in.

"You and Emmy are going home on Friday."

"But…Dr. Maynard wasn't supposed to do his exam until this afternoon." Jack said, exchanging a confused but hopeful look with Carly.

"I kind of convinced him to do it early this morning without telling you, in case it didn't go the way I thought it would. However, Emmy passed with flying colors." Lee said and grinned at his friends. "Congratulations. In exactly three days, you're both sprung."

After letting them celebrate the news another moment, Lee cleared his throat to get their attention again.

"Now there are some things that we need to discuss so…" Lee trailed off and looked at Jack then back to Carly.

"No, it's okay. Full disclosure with Jack." Carly said, realizing that Lee was hinting at doctor-patient confidentiality.

"Okay, just wanted to make sure." Lee said, nodding. It was what he had expected but as a doctor he needed the patient to verbalize.

"As you know, due to the conditions that happened with you gave birth, you required minor surgery to stop the internal hemorrhaging. Now when I say minor, that term is just in the view of the medical world. To your body, however, it was anything but minor. Even being in a coma and lying still for a month, the situation was severely traumatic and your body needs more rest, even if your brain does not. Therefore while light exercise is allowed such as walking, maybe some light jogging, and some minor light weight-lifting, certain activities are restricted for at least another six to eight weeks until your inner muscles have had a chance to heal properly. These things include running, hiking, excessive swimming, biking, and other various…jarring….activities."

Lee cleared his throat again and raised an eyebrow. He knew that Carly and Jack understood his meaning immediately by the blushes crossing their faces.

"Right." Carly said curtly and Lee nodded, moving on.

"Your physical therapy has been amazing. Your muscle tone is almost back to where it was prior to your coma which, frankly, has your physical therapist a little stunned." Lee said chuckling and Carly shrugged.

"What can I say? I'm a medical anomaly. Cute, funny, and invincible." She joked and he grinned, while Jack just nudged her and rolled his eyes.

"Okay, Wonder Woman, let's call our mutant offspring at home and give them the good news."

The "good news" spread quickly and by the time the big moment arrived Carly's room was filled with flowers and cards congratulating her on being able to go home. In fact, after Carly had chosen the few favorites that she wanted to come home with her and they had distributed the extras to other patients around the hospital, Carly's official release time had come and gone by a good hour.

The half hour they all spent retrieving Emmy from the pediatric ward just about wore everyone out, emotionally and physically. As Jack and Carly signed the last of the formal paperwork, Parker held tight to his baby sister's carrier like a guard dog. Sage and J.J. surrounded them, eyeing everyone who even dared to look Emmy's way with wary eyes letting them know that if they wanted to get through to the baby with their germs, they had another thing coming.

Ushering them all to the car that Jack had pulled up out front, Lee saw them off personally and promised to visit soon before disappearing back into the hospital. Carly looked over at Jack as he buckled himself in and started their new Acura MDX, checking in the rearview mirror to make sure everyone was ready to go. Jack had leased it just last week with the arguement that they needed a new car that could fit all of them and that he gotten an extremely good deal on it due to a friend of Bonnie McKechnie's at the car dealership.

"Home, James." Carly said, adopting a pretty bad English accent but the grin on her face made her look utterly adorable so she was instantly forgiven.

"As you wish, my lady." Jack replied in his best chauffer voice and pulled out into the mid-day traffic.

"Mommy, did you see the outfit that Emmy has on?" Sage said, peeking into the carrier as they drove home. Carly glanced at Jack with a smile and then turned around towards the backseats.

Sage and J.J. sat on either side of the car seat while Parker lounged out across the entire third row of the SUV. Since the baby's carrier faced the rear of the vehicle, he had been making funny faces at Emmy for most of the car ride home, ignoring J.J. when he had informed him that Emmy probably couldn't even see his face let alone understand that he was trying to be funny. But now he was silently watching the scenery pass by the window which lead Carly to assume that Emmy had probably fallen asleep.

"Mommy?" Sage called her again and Carly refocused on her daughter. "Did you see?"

"Only a quick peek, Honey, why?"

"Don't you recognize it? You designed it! Miss Monique sent it for her from the line you created." Sage said happily, lightly tracing the fingers of one of Emmy's hands.

"Great! That just means that she's wearing something that normally costs more than a car payment just to spit up on." Parker said from the back and J.J. snickered, even as Sage glared at the two to them.

"Hey!" She said, making sure she didn't speak too loudly but the ire in her voice came through enough.

"Enough, guys." Carly said and smiled at Sage. "That was really nice of her. I'll have to thank her when I call her see how everything is going with the line."

"Don't worry, Carly, I'm sure your collection is still all the rage." Jack said and Carly settled back into the passenger seat, trying not to chuckle at his outdated turn of phrase.

"Thank you, Jack." She said, but some of the amusement that she was feeling must have slipped into her voice because he sent her an odd look. Waving it off, she suddenly felt butterflies as she recognized that they were only a few streets away from Milltown.

"Oh…we're home." Carly said breathlessly and Jack reached over to squeeze her hand.

"Miss it?" He asked, rhetorically.

Carly couldn't answer but the tears that shone in her eyes and the small hitch in her breath when she nodded made him smile.

After pulling into the driveway, they all tumbled out of the car and up the walkway with Jack heading up the rear carrying Emmy's car seat.

Carly paused just outside the front door and pointed to a giant, pink, wooden, cutout teddy bear that was set up by the mailbox heralding little Emma's arrival to the world in big black lettering.

"Whose idea was that?" She asked, making a face, and all three kids pointed at Jack.

"His!" They chimed and Jack rolled his eyes.

"Thanks for the support, guys." He said gruffly and they all laughed as Carly unlocked and pushed open the front door.

"Surprise!"

She jumped, slightly startled, at the chorus of voices that greeted her. With wide eyes she surveyed the small group of people in her living room that consisted of Holden, Lily, their kids, Emma, Molly, Abigail, Mattie and surprisingly…Lee.

"We just left you! How in the world did you get here before us?" Carly asked when she reached him during her round of hugs. Emmy's carrier had already been snatched up by Lily and the baby was being cooed over by everyone else as they gathered close.

"I took the back roads…plus I was driving 'Eleanor'." Lee said grinning at her and then hugging her again. "I wasn't going to miss your homecoming, Luv."

"Hey, hey, hey! Watch those hands, buddy." Jack said, appearing to the right of them. However there was no animosity in his voice, merely a playful cadence, and both Carly and Lee smiled at him.

Before any of them could say anything else, though, Sage, Parker, and J.J. descended on them.

"Mom, you gotta come see my room." J.J. said, grabbing her hand like an excited 5 year old.

"Dude, mine first. She's already seen your room." Parker said, with a face.

"Not since your smelly uh…butt…left." J.J. said, correcting himself before he cursed. Last thing he wanted was to get grounded the first day that Carly was home.

"No way! Mommy has to see the nursery first!" Sage said, grabbing Carly's other hand and gently tugging her towards the stairs.

"Okay, fine, but then my room." Parker said and led the way with J.J. and Sage practically dragging Carly behind them.

"Guys, take it easy on your mom, would ya?" Jack said, frowning as he watched the scene before him.

"No, Jack, it's okay." Carly said, shaking her head when the kids paused and looked her up and down hesitantly.

"Yeah, Dad, it's okay." J.J. said starting to tug again at her declaration that she was fine.

Sage nodded too and then gave Carly a light push onward as Parker took the lead, already back to chattering away about the changes they made in the house. Carly sent Jack an amused look over her shoulder, just before she disappeared up the stairs.

Twenty minutes later they all reappeared and Carly headed straight for him where he was putting out another bowl of Lily's famous seven-layer taco dip.

"So, what did you think?" Jack asked and she smiled.

"Everything looks great…especially that nice little 26 inch flat screen TV that has suddenly appeared on the bedroom wall of our barely eleven year old daughter." Carly said, her eyes narrowing.

"Oh, that." Jack chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, the boys each had a TV already and we did update everything in their room and not hers and she was feeling a little left out so…"

"Uh-huh." Carly said, nodding her head along with his ramblings and crossing her arms over her chest. "So…basically she batted her eyelashes, called you the best Daddy ever, and you caved, right?"

"Um…yeah." Jack said, dropping his chin slightly and giving her a sheepish look with a small chuckle. "But at least I programmed that V-chip thing on it so we don't have to worry about what shows she's watching.

Lily suddenly called out to Carly and waved her over to join a discussion that she and Molly seemed to be having with Emma about cloth diapers versus disposable. Carly nodded back to them and turned to face Jack one last time.

"We'll talk about this later." Carly said her voice sounding stern but she had an amused twinkle in her eyes. Snagging a tortilla chip, she scooped it into the taco dip and gave him a pointed expression before heading over to join the others.

"Barely made it out of that one, huh mate?" Lee said, appearing at his side with Holden on his other, who offered his cousin a beer.

"Yeah…well…she hasn't seen the new 40 inch LCD that I got for the master bedroom yet." Jack said and the other two men cringed with shared male sympathies. Jack looked between the two of them and their uneasy expressions and shrugged. "What? They were having a huge sale!"

Holden and Lee just shook their heads and the topic of conversation quickly turned to the upcoming NFL season and the odds of Jack still being able to watch it on that nice, brand new, TV once Carly found out.

Forty-five minutes later Jack looked around the room and frowned in confusion, noticing someone's distinct absence.

"Hey, did you see where Carly went?" Jack asked Holden who also frowned and shook his head.

"Um, the last time I saw her she was headed for the stairs. Upstairs bathroom maybe?"

"Yeah, thanks." Jack said distractedly and went in the same direction.

He paused at the bottom of the stairs and looked back to check on everyone. The kids were grouped off talking and the adults were doing the same. Of course, the women were hovering around Molly, who currently had a sleeping Emmy on her shoulder, just waiting for their chance to hold the baby. Knowing he wouldn't be missed for a few minutes, Jack slipped upstairs.

Something inside of him told him exactly which room he would find Carly in and when he peeked into the nursery, he wasn't surprised to find her sitting in the glider by the crib. Her head was lying back against the thick white and pale pink gingham cushion and she was slowly rocking herself back and forth with her eyes closed.

By the small furrowing of her brow, she seemed deep in thought and he didn't want to disturb her just yet. So, instead, Jack looked around the small room and took in the little details that he had been too busy lately to really notice.

The walls were a pale mint green with a border around the top consisting of a pastel colored garden motif, in which the objects looked like they were drawn in chalk. There was a nice glossy white chair rail that matched the white baby furniture around the room, including the beautiful sleigh bed crib and corresponding changing table. Jack knew from putting bed together that it would eventually be able to be turned into a toddler bed and then finally a day bed as Emmy grew older.

The cushions for everything were the same pink and white material that covered the plush glider that Carly was on and the crib sheets were just a nice pale pink with a thicker blanket over top that had the same design as the border in the room.

The highlight of the room was a piece of wall art that was done just over the changing table against the far side wall. There were the large stenciled letters spelling out "EMMA" and each letter was painted to look like the pink and white gingham cloth from the furniture. Every letter was slightly askew and had a 3-D appearance of being held up portrait style by thick pink ribbons and large painted nails.

"It looks incredible, doesn't it?" Carly's voice surprised him and he turned to see her eyes were now opened and that she was looking at the name over the changing table along with him.

He blinked quickly and then nodded. "Yeah, it's almost lifelike. The design that you and Sage worked out looks even more amazing then it did on paper."

"I don't think I could have done it better myself." Carly said, tilting her head to study the wall art some more. Jack frowned and looked at her carefully.

"You know, Sage wanted to wait for you but when she found out that you and Emmy were coming home soon, she just wanted everything to be perfect."

"No, I know. That's not what I meant." Carly said, shaking her head immediately. "It really is beautiful."

"The artist that we got to do it, Linda Burns, said that Sage helped her a lot. In fact, she said that it was Sage who painted the ribbons and the nails, and she only gave her some slight technical help." Jack said, gesturing to the wall and then smiling proudly. "Our daughter is very talented."

"Yes, she is. Actually, Sage did mention that she wanted to maybe take some art classes after school along with still doing dance. I think it's a good idea that we encourage her." Carly said and Jack quickly agreed. A silence fell between them after that and Jack shifted on his feet, narrowing his eyes in her direction as he examined her.

"Carly, are you okay?"

"Yeah, Jack, I'm fine." She looked at him and gave him small smile as she nodded. "How about Emmy, is she okay?"

"Oh, yeah, she's still out cold, which is helpful because she's being passed around like a football." Jack said, trying to coax out a bigger smile.

"That's okay, it won't hurt her. She's a Snyder." Carly said, chuckling a little but even to Jack's ears the sound was a little hollow.

"Are you tired? Do you want me to send everyone home?" Jack asked, suddenly worried that the reason she was up here was that it was all too much, too soon.

"No, let them stay. They're having a good time." Carly said shaking her head, but Jack could tell there was something bothering her.

He quickly walked over to sit on the ottoman of the glider, reaching out to place a hand on her thigh even as she let her legs fall to the floor to make room for him.

"Carly, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm okay." Carly said, but as the words left her mouth the sounds of laughter floated up to them and she closed her eyes briefly, a flash of something crossing her face before Jack could decipher it.

"Hey, come on." Jack said and gently cupped her chin to let his thumb stroke the line of her jaw. When she opened her eyes again, he looked directly into them. "Talk to me. What's going on?"

"Nothing, it's just…" Carly began to say and when a light sheen of tears started to form, she tried to pull her face away. But Jack held firm, not hard enough to hurt her but enough to force her to focus her attention back on him. At the look of concern in his eyes, she sighed shakily. "I'm sorry. I just keep thinking that all of this should have happened over a month ago. That if I had just worked up the courage to tell you about my being pregnant before…"

"Stop, just stop right there. All of that is in the past." Jack said, sternly. "Yes, it's true that we lost a month of our lives but in the grand scheme of things, it's nothing. When I think about how it all could have turned out…Carly, it makes me nuts."

Even now, a couple times in the nights since she had woken up, he would have such vivid nightmares of losing her and Emmy that upon waking up his stomach would churn and he felt like he couldn't get enough air.

"Doesn't it scare you?" Carly asked and quickly shook her head. "I know you keep saying that everything is in the past but, Jack, the truth of it is that our recent past has not been hearts, rainbows, and lollipops. Far from it!"

"I know, Baby, but that's exactly why all I want to do is concentrate on here; on now. With you and our kids. I don't know what's going to happen next but I do know that I never want to let it get that bad between us again, no matter what happens."

"I don't want that either because…" Carly said and then stopped.

"Because what?"

"Because I don't ever want to hurt like that again. I can't." Carly said, her voice quiet and Jack's eyes softened.

"Oh Carly, honey, listen to me. You know that I meant everything that I said to you in that hospital, right?"

"I know, Jack, and I will never be able to tell you how much that meant to me. It's how I found my way back." Carly said, but Jack could hear something in her voice.

"But…you're still worried." Jack said and she frowned.

"I can't help it, I'm sorry. With our history and everything that's happened lately…it's just so much to take in. We've changed a lot these past few years, Jack. We're not the same two people who met in Montana all those years ago. Not completely, anyway."

Jack nodded, knowing exactly what she meant.

"Okay then, so where do we go from here? I want you to be alright with what comes next." He said and leaned forward to take her hands in his.

Carly bit her lip and then just shrugged. "I don't know, Jack. Maybe…we could just take this one day at a time instead of jumping in with both feet. Everytime we do, we seem to end up in the deep end of the ocean with no life preserver."

Jack was silent for a moment and Carly felt her heart begin to pound in her chest with a low beat of panic until a slow smile spread across his face.

"You know what?" He said and cocked his head slightly. "I think that's a great idea."

Carly's eyes widened and after a moment she gave a tiny smile. It was tentative but at least it was real this time. "Really?"

"Yeah," Jack said, his voice gaining enthusiasm. "Look at it this way. It will be fun just getting to know each other all over again."

He paused and then gave her a hesitant look.

"Um, it's up to you but, if it would help, I could move back to the farm if it's too much for you for me to be here."

Carly blinked in surprise and immediately her brain went into panic mode. That was definitely not what she had intended at all. While she wasn't exactly ready, physically or emotionally, to be intimate with Jack again, the thought of him not being at Milltown with her and the kids was unfathomable.

"No!" She said quickly, startling him with her abrupt response. She took a deep breath and tried again. "No, I want you here. With the kids…and with me."

"With…you?" Jack repeated slowly, narrowing his eyes and trying to figure out exactly that entailed.

"I'm not…you know I can't…" Carly stumbled in an uncharacteristic display of inability to find the right words, but Jack caught on and spared her by putting a finger over her lips.

"It's okay. I understand." He said and then paused again. "But even with the delayed gratification..."

The spark of recognition in her eyes at his phrasing made him smile before going on.

"…do I still get to hold you at night?"

In response, Carly placed her hand on his cheek.

"Always." She answered, her smile growing and the sparkle returning to her eyes.

A loud shrill cry from downstairs broke the mood of the nursery and the two looked at each other.

"Uh oh, duty calls." Carly said laughingly and Jack stood up, extending a hand to her as he did.

"Hey, does this whole living here and sleeping in the same bed situation at least provide some fringe benefits?" Jack asked as he helped her to her feet.

"Oh, I find that highly unlikely, G-man. We're just getting to know each other remember? What kind of girl do you think I am?" Carly said, moving like she was going to kiss him only to graze the corner of his mouth instead then slide around him.

Jack turned after her and narrowed his eyes slightly. "You're bluffing."

Just before she stepped out into the hallway, Carly turned and sent him a saucy look over her shoulder. "You hope."

Watching her disappear, Jack just stood there a moment and shook his head, before following her with an amused and hopeful smile on his face.

Some things never changed.