When Elizabeth woke up the next morning, the other side of the bed was already empty. She never remembered Nathan coming to bed the previous night and clearly, he had woken up before her. Sitting up, Elizabeth could hear the sounds of breakfast being made downstairs and she smiled, thinking of the family that was waiting for her.

Slipping out of bed and grabbing her shawl from where it was laying over the back of the desk chair, Elizabeth left the room and made her way downstairs. Allie was awake and standing at the stove cooking eggs, while Nathan sat at the table, already wearing his serge, drinking a cup of coffee. Based on the sounds that were coming from the room above her, Elizabeth guessed that Jack would come bounding down the stairs in a matter of minutes.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, Elizabeth went over to Allie first.

"Good morning, sweet girl," Elizabeth said, putting her arms around her daughter's shoulders from behind. Allie turned her head to smile at her mom.

"Good morning," she replied.

"It smells delicious," Elizabeth said, as she gave Allie a kiss on the cheek and lightly brushed Allie's chestnut hair from her shoulder.

"Thanks," Allie said, as she took the pan off the stove. "You can sit down. I'll get you a plate."

"Thanks Allie." Turning around, Elizabeth moved to smile at her husband. "Good morning," she said to him from where she stood across the table. "I guess I did fall asleep before you came to bed last night."

"That's OK," Nathan replied. "I figured you were tired." He tried to smile at her, but his eyes didn't light up like they usually did. Seeing this, Elizabeth rounded the table towards him, but as soon as she reached his chair, Nathan stood.

"I should get going," he said, setting down his coffee cup, which was still mostly full, and picking up his hat, which had been sitting on the table. "I have a lot of paperwork to get done this morning before I do my rounds."

"Oh." Elizabeth couldn't hide her surprise. Nathan almost never left so early in the morning. "OK."

"Are you sure you don't want something to eat first, Dad?" Allie asked, raising her eyebrows as she came over and set a plate of eggs and toast on the table for Little Jack.

"I'm OK," Nathan replied. "Thanks though." Allie just nodded, but it was clear from the expression on her face that she didn't believe him. Nathan turned back to Elizabeth, his hat still in his hand.

"I'll see you later, OK?"

"OK," Elizabeth said, but her voice trailed off as she studied him, confused. Instead of offering an explanation, Nathan just avoided her gaze and bent to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. That wasn't the kind of kiss they normally shared in the morning.

"Have a good day at school, Allie," Nathan said, stepping away from his wife as he went over to his daughter. He gave Allie's shoulder a squeeze before giving her a kiss on her temple. "And would you mind telling Jack that I'll see him tonight?"

"Sure," Allie said. "But wouldn't you rather wait a few minutes and tell him yourself?" Allie asked, scrunching up her eyebrows as she looked up at her dad. "I'm sure he'll be down in a few minutes."

But Nathan was already shaking his head. "I really have to get going." He gave Allie's shoulder another squeeze before turning and heading for the door. Behind his back, Elizabeth and Allie shared a concerned and very confused look. Nathan never left before Jack came downstairs. At least not if he could help it.

"Nathan!" Elizabeth called, just as he was about to step onto the porch. Nathan stopped and turned around, looking at her expectantly. "Are you alright?" Elizabeth asked, stepping up to him. "Is there something that's bothering you?" Not waiting to say goodbye to Little Jack was very unlike Nathan.

"I'm fine, Elizabeth," Nathan insisted and Elizabeth detected the slightest hint of exasperation in his voice. "Really."

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth questioned. She knew she was pushing him, but she couldn't help feeling like Nathan was keeping something from her. "You seem-"

"I'm fine," Nathan insisted, cutting off the rest of her sentence. "If there was something I wanted to tell you, I would."

"Oh. OK." Elizabeth took a step back, struck by the harsh edge in Nathan's voice. "If you're sure."

Nathan's only reply was a swift nod as he twisted his hat in his hand.

"I guess I'll see you later," Elizabeth said, when Nathan didn't say anything else. Again, Nathan only nodded in response. "I hope you have a good day."

"You too," he said and then he turned, opened the door, and was gone. Elizabeth just stood there for a moment, frowning as she stared at the now closed door.

"Well, that was weird," Allie said, voicing Elizabeth's exact thoughts. "What do you think is the matter with Dad?"

"I don't know, Allie," Elizabeth answered, as she walked back into the kitchen, but she knew that wasn't entirely true. Elizabeth was willing to bet that Nathan's funk had something to do with her dream last night. And her fear.

"Good morning!" Elizabeth jumped slightly and turned to see her son bounding down the stairs. Sharing a quick glance with Allie, Elizabeth made her way over to Jack.

"Good morning, sweet boy," she said, bending to give him a hug. Jack hugged her back and then skipped over to Allie.

"Hi Allie!" Jack exclaimed, smiling up at his big sister.

"Hey Jack! Why don't you sit down and have some breakfast?" Allie suggested.

"Okey-dokey," Jack agreed with a grin. He hopped up onto his chair and started in on his breakfast. Elizabeth went over to the counter and filled a cup with coffee as Allie prepared another plate.

"Is Daddy up yet?" Jack asked, his voice cheerful as he spoke through a mouthful of toast. At his question, both Elizabeth and Allie froze and glanced at each other. Neither wanted to answer Jack's question.

"Well, actually, Daddy had to leave a little early today, Jack," Elizabeth explained slowly, turning around to face her son. At her answer, Jack stopped, a forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth.

"He left?" Jack repeated, setting down his fork. "Without saying goodbye?" Jack's lower lip started to tremble.

"He has some work he has to finish this morning," Allie tried to explain, her voice slightly higher than normal. "But he said that he'll see you tonight." Allie pushed a smile on her face, clearly trying to cheer Jack up, but Elizabeth could tell that Allie was worried about their dad too.

"But-but," Jack sputtered. "He never leaves without saying goodbye."

"I know, Jack," Allie said, cutting in before Elizabeth could. "But Dad said he had a lot of work to do." Allie came to kneel in front of her little brother. "Sometimes grownups have to go do unfun things like work." Allie paused for a second, but then brightened, as if something had just occurred to her. "It's like how Mom says you have to do homework before you can play outside," Allie said lightly, smiling as she focused on Jack.

"So, Dad just has to do a lot of homework?" Little Jack asked slowly, as he sniffed loudly and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand. At this, Allie chuckled.

"Something like that," she said.

"So, I'll still see Daddy tonight?" Jack asked then, still rubbing a hand across his face.

"Of course you will," Allie promised. Then, she stood up and rested a hand on the table. "Now, why don't you finish up your breakfast and then go brush your teeth? Maybe you and I can take Scout out for a short walk before we have to go to school. How does that sound?"

"Oh goodie!" Jack exclaimed, bouncing in his chair. His eyes lit up with excitement and the earlier incident seemed to be forgotten as a smile overtook Jack's face. He immediately resumed eating, smiling and humming to himself. Elizabeth just stared at her daughter in amazement. Awe filled her as Elizabeth realized how grown-up and mature Allie was becoming. She knew Allie had always been a kind and thoughtful girl, but seeing her care and comfort Little Jack brought tears to Elizabeth's eyes.

Elizabeth crossed the room and went back to the counter to grab her coffee cup. Next to her, standing at the stove, Allie let out an audible sigh of relief.

"Thank you," Elizabeth whispered in her daughter's ear as she gave Allie a side hug. "That was the perfect way of explaining it to him."

"I'm just glad he didn't ask any other questions," Allie replied, still obviously relieved. Then, she shot a glance back at Jack before turning to Elizabeth and lowering her voice. "But I'm worried about Dad," the teenager finally confessed. "He wasn't acting like himself. Do you really think he's OK?"

"I don't know, Allie," Elizabeth answered honestly. She let out a short sigh. "I hope it's just some sort of misunderstanding between us. I might go and see if he's free to talk during lunch."

"OK," Allie said and then let out a breath. It was obvious she was still concerned, but knew that this was something that her parents had to work out between the two of them. Allie made two more plates, one for Elizabeth and one for herself, and then took a seat at the table next to Jack. Elizabeth smiled as she watched her two kids together, but then her smile faded as she glanced out the kitchen window.

It wasn't that she and Nathan hadn't had their differences before. They'd had plenty of them, some more complicated than others. But Elizabeth had a feeling that this was something more than a disagreement. This thing, this fear, could tear them apart if they weren't careful. And that scared Elizabeth more than anything.