Author's note: Big thanks goes to Helene who helped me with French translation! Merci, mon amie! :)
—--
Sunday morning came bathed in sunshine, its golden tracks making a snow blanket on the ground glitter.
Grace blinked twice, her mind slowly waking up. She slept on her side and as she opened her eyes her lips curled up in the happiest smile ever as her gaze fell upon her hand. Warm suntracks kissed her bed, one of them getting caught in the diamond on her ring, producing a sparkle that made Grace's smile widen.
She snuggled into her pillow, almost squealing from happiness. Letting out a sigh, Grace remembered yesterday's glorious day and how Lucas made her life more beautiful and joyful than it has ever been.
Grace brought her fingers closer to her lips and placed a small, soft kiss upon her ring.
"Good morning, my love", she whispered.
She got up from her bed, moving quickly across her room until she reached the doors. Opening them, she peeked into the hallway and smiled as she heard Lillian's and Bertha's voice.
Grace went to the bathroom to get ready for her day, then rushed downstairs with a big smile on her face.
"Good morning!", she said happily.
At hearing her voice, Bertha yelped in joy and quickly went to hug Grace.
"Congratulations, Grace! Oh, I am so happy for you!", said Bertha, kissing both Grace's cheeks.
Grace giggled happily.
"Thank you so much, my dear Bertha!", she said, then toned her voice down to a whisper "But, sssshhh, the children don't know! Lucas will come by later so we can tell them together."
Lillian came behind the counter with a smile on her face and her hands hidden behind her back.
"Speaking of my future brother-in-law, he already had something delivered for you this morning", Lillian smiled as she brought her hands forward and gave Grace an envelope and a basket full of red roses.
Grace gasped at the sight of breathtakingly beautiful flowers and she took them with a smile, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, the sweet scent warming her heart.
She opened her eyes a second later.
"When did this arrive?", she asked, smile never wavering from her face.
Lillian smiled as she took the roses from her sister's hands.
"About half an hour ago. Here, let me put them away while you read your note", she winked at her sister and Grace's smile grew as she opened an envelope.
"Bonjour ma magnifique fiancée tant aimée
Même si deux mois ne semblent pas si longs, pour moi, cela ressemble à deux siècles.
Si tu comptes les roses, tu verras dans combien de jours nous ne serons plus jamais séparés.
Je les ai comptés ce matin et ils sont trop nombreux.
Sommes-nous déjà en Février ?
J'ai hâte de te voir aujourd'hui.
Je t'aime, ma très chère Grace.
Ton Lucas"
("Good morning, my beautiful and beloved fiancée,
Although two months may not seem like that long, to me it feels like two centuries..
If you count the roses, you will see how many days are left until we will never have to be apart again. I counted them this morning and there are too many of them.
Is it February yet?
I cannot wait to see you today.
I love you, my dearest Grace.
Your Lucas")
Grace felt her heart skip a beat then start to thump faster. She brought a note to her lips and kissed it then let out a silent squeal, put her hands up in the air and did her little ballerina twirl.
Whoever said that love gives you wings, he or she was right.
Because I feel like flying.
Lillian came back at that moment, smiling at her sister's joy.
Grace's smile shone like the sun itself as she gave a note to Lillian. Her sister smiled as she opened it only to crease her eyebrows.
"It's in French", she said, looking up at Grace.
Her little sister nodded enthusiastically.
"I know", she sighed "I love him", she said and fluttered away toward the kitchen.
Lillian grinned.
"And I don't speak French", she said to herself and shaking her head, followed her sister to the kitchen.
Grace munched on a cookie with her coffee, her look faraway, her facial expression turning thoughtful.
Lillian glanced at her.
"Earth to Grace?", she teased her gently.
Grace licked the remnants of chocolate from her fingertips and got up from her chair.
"I have to make a phone call before Lucas arrives. Could you and Bertha take care of the kids? I'll try not to be long, I promise", said Grace with a pleading look in her eyes.
Lillian nodded.
"Of course", she looked up at Grace "May I ask who are you calling?"
Grace gave her a small, somewhat sad smile.
"Carson", she replied and sighed "To see if he would be willing to go and check on Jack."
—--
Lucas was coming downstairs, fixing up his cufflinks, ready to go to the orphanage.
He was halfway down the stairs when Simon called him.
"Governor, a phone call for you", as Lucas creased his eyebrows, his butler continued "It's Miss Sally."
Lucas smiled.
"Ah, she is back!", nodding to Simon, he went toward his office "I'll take it in my office. Thank you, Simon."
He went inside his office and picked up the phone receiver.
"Hello, Sally", he greeted his PR manager with a smile "Welcome back. When did you arrive?"
Sally huffed.
"Two days ago. I was sleeping like a log after that long train ride. That trip lasted an eternity!", she yawned playfully, making Lucas chuckle "So, here I am, reporting to boss before my first day back at work. Anything I should know about and get prepared?"
Lucas' lips curled up.
"Actually, there is an announcement I'd like for you to forward to the media. But, not before tomorrow morning. I want to tell my parents first", he smiled as he remembered yesterday's glorious events.
Sally nodded.
"Alright. What do you want to announce?", she asked.
Lucas' smile grew wide.
"That I am engaged", he barely finished his sentence when Sally started to squeal in joy.
"Oh, my God!!!! Lucas, congratulations!! Oh, this is the best news ever! Oh, we will need to take a photo-shoot of the two of you!", she rambled on excitedly.
Lucas laughed, unable to resist not to tease his responsible, organized and ever detailed PR manager .
"But, don't you have enough photos from the press conference?", he asked, smirking.
Sally yelped in shock.
"Lucas! We have to have an official engagement photo of the two of you, not you two posing in some far away town seven days ago!", she all but shrieked at him.
Lucas shook his head, still laughing.
"I know, Sally, I am just teasing you", he chuckled at hearing her huff out a breath "Let me just check with Grace when would it be the right time to do it."
Sally chuckled.
"Of course. Once again, congratulations, Lucas. Pass my congratulations to Grace too", she said with a grin.
Lucas smiled.
"I will. Thank you, Sally. I'll talk to you later, bye!", he put the phone receiver down and took a deep breath in, his smile never wavering from his face.
He decided to call his parents later, when Grace will be beside him. He wanted to have her in his arms when they shared their news.
Pulling out his pocket watch Lucas checked the time only to look up as the doors of his office opened and Gustave's head appeared with a trademark frown on his face.
"Why are you still here?! I packed the cakes for the little ones already, do you want them to melt in the basket?!", Gustave grumbled, already half offended at the possibility of his cakes being ruined due to his cousin's procrastination.
Lucas bursted to laugh as he put his pocket watch away and walked toward his cousin.
"Je te présente mes excuses, mon frère" ("My apologies, mon frère"), Lucas stifled a laugh as the frown on Gustave's face grew at his laughter "It won't happen again."
Gustave huffed out a breath as he left Lucas' office.
"Bien sûr cela ne se reproduire pas.
Prends moi pour un idiot 1 fois, honte sur toi. Prends moi pour un idiot 2 fois, honte sur moi. Et je ne suis pas un idiot" ("Of course it won't happen again. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. And I am no fool"), he mumbled his way toward the kitchen, making Lucas laugh as he yelled out to him.
"Merci, mon frère!", only to earn himself a wave of the tablecloth before his cousin disappeared in his kitchen.
—--
Grace held her breath as she heard the phone ringing on the other side of the line. She nervously chewed on her lower lip, glancing down at the paper with Carson's name written on it.
"Hello, Doctor Shepherd speaking."
Grace smiled widely as she heard her friend's voice.
"Hello, Carson! It's Grace", she greeted him happily.
Carson let out a small laugh of surprise at hearing her voice.
"Grace! What a lovely surprise! How are you?", he asked.
Grace smiled, practically bouncing on her feet.
"I'm great, Carson. How are you? I hope I didn't wake you up?", she raised her eyebrows, her teeth still chewing her lower lip.
Carson shook his head as he poured some coffee in his cup.
"No, no, I am up already, don't worry. I am fine, Grace, thank you. I got myself a new job", he quipped with a smile "And I heard that I have you to thank for that."
Grace felt her cheeks flaming up.
"He really didn't have to tell you that. It's not important who came up with the idea", she said, her heart warming up at Lucas' praise.
"Well, I am glad he told me. Thank you, Grace. I really appreciate your trust in me", he said.
Grace smiled.
"You are mostly welcome", she replied warmly.
Carson smiled.
"And may I just say how happy I am for you and Lucas! I can't think of the two people who deserve happiness more than you two do. And I am sure that you two will do so many good things together. You already are with the orphanage", he said sincerely.
Grace felt her eyes water.
"Thank you so much, Carson", she mumbled, wiping a few tears that rolled down her cheeks. Her ring sparkled, immediately bringing a smile back to her face. She let out a silent, happy giggle and added "In fact, yesterday Lucas asked me to marry him and I said yes!", her laugh mixed with tears and she took a breath in, her emotions getting better of her.
Carson gasped in surprise and then laughed happily as he heard the news his friend just told him.
"Grace!!! That's wonderful!!! Congratulations!! I am so glad to hear that!", he exclaimed and then quipped "Hey, don't you two dare to get married until I get there!"
Grace laughed at her friend's antics.
"No, no, we won't, I promise!!", as the two of them laughed, Grace took a deep breath in and growing serious, she said "Carson…I actually called you because I need your help."
Carson sat down on his settee and nodded.
"What is it, Grace?", he asked.
She took a deep breath in.
"It' about Jack, Elizabeth's son. We were in Hope Valley last week, Lucas was holding a press conference… Carson, he was so excited about a possibility to see his little buddy, he even brought him a present", Grace felt a lump growing in her throat at remembering Lucas' raw pain "But, Carson, Elizabeth sent Jack away the minute she heard that Lucas will come to Hope Valley."
Carson was about to drink a bit of coffee as he listened to Grace, but his hand stopped midway as he heard the last sentence she told him.
"Sent him away? Where?", he asked, flabbergasted.
Grace wiped her eyes as they started to water up.
"To Hamilton, to her parents. She is leaving him there for the holidays and his birthday and she doesn't plan to join him. Allie told Lucas that she never wants to talk to Jack about Lucas. And she told everybody in Hope Valley that Lucas broke up their relationship, even to her students!", Grace let out a shaky breath "It nearly destroyed Lucas, Carson. She dared to fight with him and with me, she is not acting normal at all. I tried to tell her, both Lucas and I tried to tell her that she needs to get help. I really believe that she is still not over Jack's death, that she is still grieving and that she is suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, I even told her that."
Carson took a deep breath in.
"What did she say when you told her that?", he asked.
Grace shook her head.
"She snapped at me, told me to stop it and started insulting me. I am sorry that she lost her husband, but that doesn't give her the right to go around and hurt and use people!", Grace swallowed hard.
Carson nodded.
"You are right, it doesn't", he said silently.
Grace took a breath in.
"Carson, all this is a mess but the one who suffers the most here is Jack. She doesn't care for her own son anymore! Why didn't she go with him to Hamilton? How can she leave him alone on Christmas and his birthday?", Grace's voice shivered "Carson, I know it's asking a lot, but do you think you could pay a visit to Elizabeth's parents? Her family knows you and so does Jack. Just to make sure that he is alright."
Carson nodded, his heart aching in pain.
"Of course I will do it. It was good of you to call me and suggest that. I know Jack since he was born", Carson checked the clock on the wall "I can even try to do it today, if her Father is willing to talk to me."
Grace closed her eyes, letting out a breath of relief.
"Thank you so much!", she said sincerely "I didn't tell Lucas anything about this. I don't want to give him false hope of seeing Jack again. He suffered enough already. Both of them did."
Carson shook his head in disbelief.
"I can't believe it how things spiraled out of control, Grace. Lucas and Jack were so close, truly. They were really like Father and son. Lucas adored that little boy and Jack looked up at him", he rubbed his forehead "To have Lucas just snatched away like that from his life, without explanation or understanding when the boy misses him…That is just plain cruel", getting up, Carson looked around to find where did he drop his jacket once he came home "You know what? I am going to try and visit them now. Just don't tell Lucas anything until you hear from me, Grace. Okay?"
Grace nodded, wiping her tears.
"Thank you, Carson", she mumbled, her voice shaking.
Carson found his jacket and grabbed his car keys.
"I'll call you as soon as I get back. Bye, Grace", he said, already unlocking the doors.
Grace smiled through her tears.
"Good luck, Carson. Bye", she said and slowly hung up.
She sat down for a moment to collect her thoughts and calm down. She hoped against hope that Jack was fine, that his Mother's behaviour didn't affect his little heart.
Because that's what Lillian taught her - Never lose hope.