Author's note: Thanks to Avis Minter for suggesting a snowball fight!
—--
The knock at the doors was heard and Grace smiled as she and Lillian tried to shush the children down.
"They're here! Ok, remember what we talked about", Grace's smile grew as Lillian shooed her to go and open the doors while she went to turn off the lights, the kids silently giggling as they shushed each other.
Grace giggled at their conspiracy and rushed toward the doors. Opening them, she smiled happily.
"Hello, everybody! Welcome!", she stepped aside, letting them all in.
Carson looked around and smiled.
"Wow Grace, it is bigger than I thought it would be!", he said as he took off his scarf.
Grace's smile grew.
"Well, it has to be. With our rule it can get a bit crowded here", she said.
Agatha smiled gently as she raised her eyebrows a bit.
"What kind of rule?", she asked as she took off her coat.
Grace looked at her, a small proud smile curling up her lips.
"Siblings can't be separated. If someone wants to adopt, they should adopt the siblings, not just one of them", she replied as she took Agatha's coat and put it on a peg.
Completely missing Agatha's amazed look.
"That is amazing, Miss Bennet", Agatha gently said.
Grace turned around and smiled.
"Thank you", she replied.
Lucas just finished taking Jack's jacket off, still in his coat when he noticed something odd.
Silence.
Getting up from his kneeling position and taking his coat off, he slightly creased his eyebrows as he looked at Grace.
"Why is it so silent here?", he asked.
Grace shrugged, biting her lower lip so she wouldn't say anything. She looked down at Jack and knelt down to be his eye level.
"Hi, Jack", she greeted the little boy.
And in the next moment, the little boy's reaction nearly knocked Grace off her feet.
Jack rushed toward her and catapulted in a hug. Grace instinctively held him close and picked him up in her arms, looking puzzled at Lucas over the little boy's shoulder.
But, Lucas just gave her a small smile, not saying anything.
She gently kissed the little blonde head before slightly pulling back to look at Jack. She smiled warmly at him.
"Wanna come with me so we can see why is it so silent here and tell Lucas all about it?", she whispered conspiratolly.
Jack nodded eagerly as he smiled, holding onto Grace's shoulder with one hand.
Grace smiled at the little boy's reaction and gently took his other little hand, placing a soft kiss on his little palm.
"Come on", she quickly turned around and tiptoed toward the living room.
"Are we spying?", whispered Jack.
Grace nodded.
"Yes, we are", she whispered back "Cover me, partner."
As she said that, Jack quickly hugged her around her neck as she got to the threshold and slowly reached out for the light…
"SURPRIIIIISEEE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACK!"
Agatha, Lucas, Carson and Jack gasped in surprise as the light went on and the children, Lillian and Bertha exclaimed their greeting, all smiling faces and applause.
Grace tightened her hold on Jack as she watched him smile happily at the scene in front of him.
"Happy birthday, Jack", she said as she smiled warmly at him.
Jack grinned happily.
"Miss Grace, how did you know it's my birthday?", he asked with child's excitement as he hugged Grace around her neck, pressing his little cheek against her cheek, never looking away from the sight in front of him.
Grace gently kissed his cheek and smiled warmly.
"I know everything about special kids. That's my superpower. And you are a very special boy, Jack", she stepped inside the living room and smiled as Lillian came toward them "Jack, this is my sister Lillian."
Lillian smiled as she gently caressed Jack's blonde head.
"Hello, Jack. Nice to meet you. And happy birthday", Lillian said warmly.
Jack smiled at her, his eyes widening in awe as he looked at Lillian.
"Your hair is like a fire!", he said in awe, making all grown ups chuckle. Lillian playfully took one curl and put it in Jack's little palm.
"But, it's quite cool. See? It doesn't burn", as Jack's little fingers touched her hair, she smiled warmly at the sweet little boy.
Jack looked up and smiled.
"Miss Molly's hair is also like a fire. But, your hair is prettier", he said with child's innocence and Lillian playfully tapped his little nose, making him giggle.
"You are going to be a heartbreaker when you grow up!", said Lillian with a wink and gave the little boy a tickle, making him shriek with laughter.
Grace smiled warmly at seeing Jack so happy. She turned toward the children and knelt down, still holding Jack in her arms.
"Hey, everybody, this is my friend Jack. He will be here for some time, so I thought he would be bored if he only talks with us grown ups and I decided to have him meet you!", she winked at Jack, making the little boy giggle.
Little Anna came toward them first and smiled.
"Hi, Jack, I'm Anna. Wanna see our snow cave?", she took his hand and bounced on her feet in excitement.
Jack's eyes widened.
"Snow cave?", he asked.
Anna nodded eagerly.
"Yeah! We made it yesterday with Miss Lillian!", she grinned.
Little Tony toddled toward them waving his hands through the air as he exclaimed:
"It is this big!", he spread his little arms wide open causing Jack to gasp and look at Grace.
"Can I see it, Miss Grace?", he asked.
Grace shrugged, barely fighting back her smile.
"Well, Jack, you should ask Mrs. Thatcher about that", she gently said.
Jack wiggled his way out from Grace's hold and rushed toward Agatha, followed by a bunch of kids.
"Can I go, Gran-Auntie? Please?", he looked up at her with a pleading smile. The other kids looked expectantly at her and Agatha nodded with a gentle smile.
"Just be careful, darling", she said.
"YEEEEAAAH!!!!", kids exclaimed happily and they wanted to leave immediately but Lillian's voice stopped them.
"Hey, munchkins! Don't forget to put your jackets, caps, scarves and gloves on!", she put on a serious facial expression and added "I will come to check did you do it!"
"We will, Miss Lillian!", "Come on, lets go!", "Jack, here, follow me!" - the little ones hurried away from the living room and in a flash, a bunch of them were ready to go to the backyard.
Agatha looked up at Grace and Lillian.
"Is it safe?", she asked in concern "I can't say no to anything that sweet boy asks of me."
Lillian waved off her hand.
"Oh, it's perfectly safe, don't worry! It is just a small house made of snow. They just wanted to make something else other than snowman", she walked over to greet Agatha "I am Lillian, Grace's sister. It is pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Thatcher", she offered her hand with a warm smile.
Agatha smiled warmly.
"Pleasure is all mine, Miss Lillian. Thank you for inviting us to your home", she replied.
Lillian nodded.
"Thank you for coming", her eyes twinkled with humour as she glanced behind Agatha "And thank you for bringing this wonderful man with you!", she laughed warmly as Carson stepped out behind Agatha and went toward her, enveloping her in a friendly hug. Lillian hugged him back with a smile "Carson! It's wonderful to see you again!"
Carson pulled back and smiled at her.
"It's wonderful to see you again too, Lillian!", he showed with his head toward Grace and Lucas "Have these two been giving you headaches?"
Lillian rolled her eyes full force.
"Oh, you can't even imagine!", she quipped "It is so good to FINALLY have a back up!"
Grace frowned, her hands on her hips, while Lucas gasped in a mock shock:
"HEY!"
Carson crossed his arms in front of him and pulled up the serious facial expression.
"Oh, I know how handful HE can be", he said.
Lillian huffed a breath out.
"Well, SHE is no better, trust me", she replied.
Lucas fixed his vest by pulling it down a bit as he walked toward Agatha and offered her his arm to escort her to sit down before he looked back at Lillian and Carson, trying not to laugh.
"May I remind you that Grace and I are the ones who brought you here, doctor?", he quipped, making Carson chuckle.
Lillian copied her little sister's posture and placed her hands on her hips as she stared pointedly at Lucas:
"And may I remind you that you will be eating MY cooking today, Governor?", she shot back, barely holding back her laughter.
Lucas grimaced, causing Lillian to throw tablecloth on him and he laughed out loud:
"Touché, Lillian!"
Grace shook her head and slightly snorted at the silly trio before she turned on her heels and walked toward the glass doors at the end of the room.
"I'm gonna check on the munchkins. Be right back", and with those words, she was gone.
Lillian, Agatha and Carson sat down in the living room, but Lucas held up his index finger and simply said:
"I'm just going to check on Jack", and with those words, he was gone.
Lillian pressed her lips tightly together so she wouldn't burst out laughing.
Could they be more transparent?
Lucas opened the glass doors, stepped into the backyard, closed the doors and was about to turn around when he heard Grace's whisper from his left:
"Ready…set…go!"
And in the next moment, a few snowballs flew into his legs, sending him down to the ground where the giggling children tackled him and showed him with snow, making him laugh out loud.
"Oh, okay! You wanna play like that?", Lucas grinned as he started a snowball fight against the children who shrieked from laughter. Even Jack was among the ones who tackled him down!
Lucas laughed as he threw another snowball in direction of Jack's dark blue jacket, making a little boy giggle out loud.
"Hey buddy! Shouldn't you be on my side?", Lucas exclaimed through laughter.
Jack giggled even more as he hid behind the tree.
"Sorry, buddy! Miss Grace promised us some hot chocolate if we do this!"
Lucas gasped in a mock shock:
"Really?! And where is your rebel Captain?", he called out.
The children held back their laughter as they watched their Wucas of Oz getting up from the ground and scanning the backyard for any sign of their beloved Gracie…
Only to find himself down on the snowy ground again as he was attacked from behind by Grace herself!
The children burst out laughing as Grace tiptoed behind Lucas and tackled him down on the ground. But, she slipped on the snow in the process and yelping in surprise, she fell right beside him, bursting into laughter as she landed on the snowy ground!
Only to yelp in surprise as Lucas grabbed her and shoved some snow down her neck and back before he started to tickle her!
"Noooooooo!", Grace shrieked through laughter.
Lucas laughed as he heard the children running toward them, knowing that they are coming to save their beloved Gracie. He gently tightened his hold on her and whispered:
"Oh, you are going to pay for this, future Mrs. Bouchard!"
Grace trembled deliciously in his arms and gave him a dreamy look as she whispered:
"Oh, I cannot wait, Mr. Bouchard!"
Grace laughed as the kids launched on Lucas, sending him down on the ground and tickling him, making him laugh and lose his hold on her. She got up and brushed the snow off her coat when suddenly she felt a tug of small hand on her skirt.
Grace looked down and saw Jack looking up at her with a smile on his sweet face. She warmly smiled back and knelt down…
Only to have Jack slowly hug her, catching her completely off guard.
Grace grew silent, her eyebrows creasing in concern as she hugged the little boy back.
She gently rubbed his back in slow comforting motions and she glanced at Lucas. He didn't notice anything as he was still trying to defend himself from the snowball fight brought down on him.
Grace pulled away a bit to look at Jack.
"Are you alright, sweetie?", she asked gently.
But, the little boy just hugged her again and she heard his silent voice:
"Miss Grace, please, take care of my buddy. I don't want him to be sad."
Grace felt her breath hitch and her eyes started to fill with tears.
She hugged the precious boy more tightly and gently kissed his soft cheek as she slowly rocked him in her arms.
"I will, Jack. I promise", she whispered. As Jack remained silent, she caressed his little shoulders and gently asked "Wanna help me make some hot chocolate?", as she felt the little boy nodding against her shoulder, she got up and turned around to go back inside "Come on, sweetie. Let's go", and she quickly walked inside, carrying Jack in her arms.
When Lucas finally managed to free himself from his little attackers, he noticed that Grace and Jack were nowhere in sight.
He got up from the ground and turned around, looking for the two of them, but to no avail.
Where did they go?