AN: It's still Christmas in Hope Valley- well, now it's Christmas day! It's time for some fluff! I hope you're ready for it!
"Jack, where are we going?" Elizabeth laughed again. He had come to the cafe, kissed her, shared a look with Abigail, and then had wrapped her in a coat, put a blindfold around her eyes, and had put her in the front seat of a wagon.
"If I told you, It wouldn't be a surprise, would it?" Jack said. She couldn't see him, but she could hear the smile in his voice.
"If you're taking me out in the middle of nowhere right now, Constable, I'm going to be a bit upset. It's freezing." Elizabeth said.
"Not in the middle of nowhere exactly." He said, and pulled the horse to a stop. He lifted her very gently from the wagon, but he didn't put her down like she had expected him to. He continued to carry her effortlessly, and she could almost swear she heard the creak of a door.
"Where are we?" Elizabeth asked. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and tried to use her other senses to discern their location, but her mind came up blank.
"Hold on just...a second." He said, and she thought she heard another door. "Here we are." He set her on her feet, and kept his hands on her shoulders.
"Can I take this off now?"
"I've got it." He said, and slowly untied the knot. It took a few seconds for her eyes to adjust to the light, but when they did, she gasped.
"Jack- is this- This is...Our house?" Elizabeth exhaled, and looked the whole room over.
"It's your library." Jack said softly, and Elizabeth turned to look at him.
"Library? You never said we were going to have a library." Elizabeth said.
"It was supposed to be a surprise?" Jack laughed, and she grinned. "It's the only room in the house that's actually complete. I made sure it would be in time for Christmas."
"Jack, I don't know what to say…" She turned and looked at everything. One wall was lined with shelves, shelves that she was sure he had made himself. In one corner there was a desk, and a chair, and on the wall, hung the most beautiful painting she had ever seen. She walked slowly towards it, and reached out to it. "Did you- did you paint this?"
"It's your real Christmas present." Jack said with a smile. Elizabeth stared at all of the beautiful detail. The school house, the lake, the beautiful sunset sky, and the best part of all, were the two silhouettes- one on bended knee, the other standing with her hand on her heart. It was their proposal, and it was absolutely beautiful.
"Oh Jack!" Elizabeth laughed, and put her hand over her mouth as a sob escaped her lips. "I love it so much! I love you so much!" She cried, and ran up to him. "Thank you." She kissed him soundly, and didn't pull away until she felt a little dizzy.
"If that's how you're going to thank me for presents, I should bring you things more often." Jack said, and she blushed again.
"Now I feel bad. I only got you those socks."
"That you made yourself." Jack defended her gift. "And they're perfect quality."
"Now I know you're lying. They were a bit of a mess." She laughed, even though she was still crying.
"Not at all. They're perfect. Just like you." Elizabeth couldn't help but kiss him again. "I brought a picnic. We never got to have a picnic here, since we started construction the day after our engagement. I thought we could have it right here, in the library."
"I think that's a wonderful idea." Elizabeth grinned, and waited while Jack ran back out to the wagon, and returned with a blanket, and a basket. They set everything up quickly, and settled onto the quilt. "To our first Christmas as a couple." She said, raising her sandwich in the air.
"The first of many." Jack nodded, and they bumped their sandwiches together as if they were glasses of champagne. "I hope you're not mad that I stole you from the cafe."
"How could I be mad? Look at this...this is amazing." Elizabeth said. "I had no idea that the house was so far along. Maybe we should have scheduled the wedding for January."
"Well, the other rooms still need a lot more work." Jack admitted. "But it should be done in three weeks or so. Then we can get all the furniture and things in."
"I can't believe you built me a library, Jack. You're the most wonderful man in the entire world, did you know that?"
"You could say it more often." Jack said seriously, and Elizabeth gave him that half smile that he loved so much. "Well, I only built it, because the most wonderful woman in the world deserves her own, private library...and because your collection of books is so big, I thought we might drown in them if we didn't have proper storage." Elizabeth gently elbowed him, took a bite of the sandwich, and leaned against his shoulder. "Well, how do you like that. William Thatcher's princess sitting on a blanket, eating a ham sandwich without a plate, and leaning on a mountie."
"I'm not so sure I'm William Thatcher's princess any more." Elizabeth said, and Jack looked at her curiously. "Well, I mean, of course I am...but I think more than anything, I'm Jack Thornton's fiance." He kissed her forehead very softly, and she leaned more of her weight against him.
"I'll like it best, when you're Jack Thornton's wife."
"Mm. I think I'll like you better when you're Elizabeth Thornton's husband."
"Just like me?"
"Alright, Love you."
"That's more like it." Jack grinned and finished his sandwich. Elizabeth, who was still only halfway through hers smiled too, and looked up at her handsome mountie- her handsome Jack.
"This is the most wonderful Christmas I've ever had." Elizabeth sighed.
"Really?"
"Really. The service last night was so beautiful, and the gathering at Abigail's was lovely. And getting to spend the day with you without working on anything...It's been heaven, Jack." She sighed. "And my favorite part, was when we sang caroles, and I got to hear your wonderful voice." Jack looked at her as if she were insane. "What? Jack, you've got the most amazing voice I've ever heard...Gosh, you sing, you paint, you build, you're the best mountie there is. Is there anything you can't do?"
"Knit." Jack said with a shrug. Elizabeth smiled, and wrapped her arms around him. "But if the socks are any indication, you're getting pretty good at that...so…"
"So we'll have a house full of talent. I'll knit, and you can do everything else."
"Hm. Sounds fair."
"Good." Elizabeth sniffed, and then they both began to laugh. "Is it wrong that I'm anxious for Christmas to end, merely because I want it to be another day closer to our wedding?"
"No. I understand exactly how you feel."
"Thirty nine days." Elizabeth sighed.
"Thirty nine long days." Jack nodded.
"But then...Forever." Elizabeth grinned, and Jack nodded and leaned towards her.
"Forever." And he kissed her.
AN: Thanks for reading, all of you swell Hearties! more to come!