Fritz's face lit up the moment he saw Jo, and the next thing she knew, she was engulfed in in his warm embrace. When they parted, his expression changed from one of joy to one of concern.

"Josephine, you look so pale! Is it simply concern for your brother-in-law?"

Jo nodded, grateful for the built-in excuse.

"We shall visit him soon, but first, we will have a nice breakfast."

"Thanks." Jo attempted to smile. "Here, I brought cinnamon rolls from the bakery on the corner."

"How lovely!" Fritz took the rolls from her and placed them on the counter. "They will be the perfect supplement to my casserole."

Over breakfast, Jo related the events of the morning. "It scared me to death when Mom woke me up in the middle of the night. I was afraid somebody broke in! And then when I heard John's name, my heart just sank. Meg is so totally devoted to him. She'd just die if anything happened to him!"

Fritz bit into a piece of crunchy bacon. "How did the two of them meet?"

Jo took a gulp of orange juice. "Teddy was in an accident and couldn't go to school for a long time. John was his tutor. He came every day to help teddy with his studies so he wouldn't get too far behind."

"Interesting that he and I are in similar professions."

Jo wiped her mouth with a napkin. "You know, it is. I've never even thought of that before."

"And your father was a minister, as was mine."

Jo laughed. "The coincidences just keep coming, don't they! And Sybil's father is a minister, too. It's too bad you missed that barbecue a few weeks ago. It was a lot of fun."

"I am sure the opportunity will eventually come again."

"Hey, why don't we have a Christmas party and invite everybody we know? That way, they could all meet each other."

Fritz chuckled. "Alas, I am not much of a party planner."

"Oh, it wouldn't have to be anything fancy. We could just bake up some Christmas cookies and divinity and play Christmas music on my CD player. I'm sure my parents wouldn't mind us having it in their living room."

"So you have canceled your plans to go to New Orleans, then."

"Oh, yes. Mom and Dad and Meg will need my help for the next couple of weeks." She'd lost the desire to make the trip, anyway.

Fritz looked thoughtful. "There is also a concern about limiting your sister's exposure to others, I believe."

"It would just be Sybil and her family, my family, and you and me. And Teddy, of course."

"I will leave you in charge of the arrangements. It is much more your area of expertise than mine."

"Not really."

The meal was over. Fritz began to gather the dirty plates and silverware and carry them to the sink. Jo helped him.

"So, what do you want to do for the rest of the day?" she asked him when the last fork had been loaded into the dishwasher.

His eyes twinkled. "How would you like to go ice skating with me?"

Jo's jaw dropped. "Ice skating?"

Fritz chuckled. "Why, of course! We could both use the exercise, could we not?"

"I'll have to go back home to get my ice skates," said Jo.

"Do you need me to give you a ride?"

"Oh no, that's all right. I'll just take my car. It'll only take me a few minutes."

On the way home, Jo wondered about the appropriateness of going ice skating when the rest of the family was so worried about John. She was halfway afraid her father might scold her, but as it turned out, the others barely even noticed her presence when she entered the house. As unobtrusively as she could, she retrieved the skates from her closet and returned to Fritz's home.

He drove them both to the frozen pond in the neighborhood. Jo hadn't been ice skating in so long, she was afraid she might turn out to be a bit rusty, but to her relief, she quickly remembered how. She was surprised to discover what an expert ice skating Fritz was.

"You must have been ice skating your entire life!" she remarked.

He laughed. "Almost. My parents started taking me and Minna when we were very small."

"I learned when I was little, too," Jo told him. "I went a lot all the way through school, but since I graduated, it seems like other things have kind of gotten in the way. My car troubles, Beth's illness..."

She got a lump in her throat and couldn't continue. A moment later, she felt Fritz's hand on her arm.

"But your sister is on the mend now, is she not? And you have a new car which drives well."

"And most importantly, I have you."

"My darling Josephine, you will always have me."

After ice skating, Fritz drove them to the hospital to visit John. He was in so much pain, and on so much medication, that he wasn't able to communicate very well. Jo saw that Teddy had joined her family.

"Thank you so much for coming!" she said as she gave him a hug. "Where's Sybil?"

"She and her family are in Germany, visiting her father's relatives. They won't be back until right before the spring term starts."

"Oh." Jo was a little disappointed that Fritz wouldn't meet Sybil and her family soon, after all. "How's your grandfather doing?"

"Much better, since they changed his meds. He's been moved from the hospital to a nursing home."

"So how long before he's able to come home?"

Teddy sighed. "It might be a very long time, or he might never be able to come home at all. Man! It's kind of creepy, being in that great big house all by myself. I might ask Sybil to move in just to keep me company."

Jo frowned. "Isn't that kind of fast? You've only been knowing each other for a couple of months."

Teddy shrugged. "We'd be no different from anyone else."

Jo knew he was right. She thought of what she and Fritz had discussed earlier.

"Fritz and I were hoping we could all get together before Christmas to celebrate. We'd love for you to join us."

Teddy grinned. "Sounds great!"