Finding Home Again Chapter 42, a heartland fanfic

Chapter 42

Lou made a big breakfast on Sunday morning. She wanted to send Georgie off with a good meal before she had to eat plain and airport food, and she also wanted to have one last family meal with her oldest daughter as well. "Okay, everyone! Breakfast is ready!"

The family gathered around the table. Some were looking a little sleepy as it was 7 a.m. and most of them got up just to have breakfast. No one wanted to miss spending a little time with Georgie before she left.

Lisa and Jack were both extra sleepy. They had stayed up late fooling around. Jack still got up at his usual time to do chores, and he seemed fine. Lisa put her elbows on the table at one point, leaned on her hands, and yawned. When Jack chuckled at her, she glared at him. She wanted to blame him for keeping her up, but she knew she had been a willing participant.

"You look tired, Lisa," said Lou. "Did you not get enough sleep?"

Peter was keeping it under control, but he did look a little amused at the situation. Georgie looked a little disgusted.

Lisa tried to remain nonchalant. "I'm okay. I just woke up way too early yesterday for no reason, so I'm a little behind on sleep. It's fine."

"It's that husband of yours," said Tim. "He can't even sleep in a little bit. He always has to get up to do chores."

Lisa looked at Jack out of the corner of her eye. "You're not wrong that he gets up early no matter what, but I didn't hear him yesterday. I was just awake early yesterday for no reason." Desperately wanting to change the subject, Lisa tried to put the focus back on her eldest great granddaughter. "Other than getting Phoenix back in shape, do you have any plans once you get back to Florida?"

"Well, I'm most excited about riding Phoenix again. I've missed him so much. I'm glad that I could be here for the family, but I do need to get back to my life there. It will be so nice not to communicate with Quinn through Facetime. It's better than texts or phone calls, but it's still just not the same. I have some friends there too whom I'm looking forward to seeing. It will be fun to go out to dinner with them or go on rides together."

"I'm going to miss you! Please come back to visit again soon, and we'll make a trip down there as well," said Lou while getting a little teary-eyed.

"I'm going to miss you too, mom." Georgie got a little teary-eyed herself.

Peter put his arm around Lou. "We'll just have to take a trip down there some time with Katie."

Once breakfast was over, Georgie went to get her luggage, and Katie joined her. Lyndy had gone to her room to play. Everyone else stayed at the table chatting away. No one was in a big hurry to get up.

Tim looked over at Lisa and asked, "How are you going to handle Georgie leaving? What are you going to do without that buffer?"

LIsa sighed. "I'm going to do my best, and I still have Edwin around to help with things."

"Tim, leave Lisa alone. She's figuring all of this out, and it hasn't been easy, but I'm proud of her for working so hard to get back on her feet after everything that has happened." Jack was sitting at the end of the table staring down Tim at the other end. His expression wasn't angry, but it was very serious.

"Okay, okay. There's no need to get so defensive of your 'wife', Jack." Tim made quote marks with his fingers when he said "wife."

Jack looked over at Lisa with a look. Lisa knew he was wondering if he could tell them that they were back together. Lisa shook her head slightly to indicate that she didn't want to say anything just yet.

"Well, the nonverbal communication is back. That's a good sign," said Tim.

Jack and Lisa rolled their eyes. Jack knew that Tim wasn't going to let it go. He was like a dog with a bone. He did his best to ignore him and turned to look at Amy. "Lyndy said you two were going for a long ride today."

"Yeah, we're going to pack a picnic. She's really excited about it." Amy chuckled. "Sometimes I think she likes horses more than me, which I didn't think was possible."

Jack that back to when Amy was a little girl and very much obsessed with horses like her daughter. "I remember how you would beg your mom to go see your pony constantly. On the days when Mrs. Bell came with Sugar Foot, you were beside yourself with excitement." Jack smiled at the memory. "It's fun to see it be passed on to your daughter."

Georgie and Katie came downstairs with Georgie's luggage and set it by the door. They came back to stand by the dining table. "All my stuff is ready to go. We should probably leave soon," said Georgie.

Everyone got up from the table and began putting the dishes in the kitchen. Lisa looked around and decided she would do the dishes once Lou, Peter, Georgie, and Katie left for the airport. "Leave the dishes. I'll do them after you guys get on the road. I'm sure Jack, Tim, Jessica, and Amy can help with the cleanup as well."

Tim started to protest, but Jessica elbowed his side. "Sure, we can help clean up after breakfast."

The family made their way outside to say goodbye to Georgie. Lisa and Jack ended up on either side of Georgie, and both of them put an arm around her as they made their way to Lou's SUV. Georgie looked between the two of them and quietly said, "I'm really happy for you. Don't wait as long as you did when you got married to tell people."

Jack shook his head. "No, we won't do that."

Lisa nodded. "We'll say something soon."

When they arrived at the car where everyone was standing, both Jack and Lisa gave Georgie a hug and wished her well and then stepped back to allow the rest of the family a chance to say goodbye as well. Jessica said a quick goodbye and backed out of the family group still around Georgie to stand next to Jack and Lisa. After Tim said his goodbyes, he joined Jessica. Amy and Lyndy did the same.

Georgie turned to face her family, who weren't accompanying her to the airport. "I'm going to miss you all. I'll try to make it back home soon, but you all are also welcome to come visit in Florida. Bye." Georgie got into the SUV along with her immediate family and waved as they drove away.

Lisa wiped a tear away as she waved goodbye. She was surprised by how emotional she was getting. Her life had gone through intense changes in the past couple of months. Georgie had become someone she depended on and was so thankful for. The future was still a big question mark for Lisa, and Georgie leaving made it bigger.

Jack noticed Lisa getting emotional. He put an arm around her shoulders. "You're going to miss her a lot, aren't you?"

Lisa nodded. "I am. I didn't expect to get so emotional." She wiped away another tear and then stepped away from Jack and was thankful when she saw him look over at their family and then back at her and gave her a look of understanding.

Once Lisa pulled herself together, she looked around at everyone and said, "Okay, let's go get everything cleaned up from breakfast."

Tim groaned, but Jack didn't want to hear it. "You said that you'd help. Let's go."

"Fine." Tim looked less than pleased but didn't argue.

Once everything was cleaned up from breakfast, Tim and Jessica went back to the barn loft, Amy and Lyndy got ready for the day, and Jack and Lisa sat down on the couch in the living room.

Jack leaned over to Lisa and whispered, "I could use a nap. I'm tired, too."

Lisa blushed and replied, "Gee, I wonder why?"

"A nap sounds really nice right now. I mean an actual nap." Jack winked at Lisa, and she laughed.

"We could go over to Fairfield. I told Georgie not to worry about washing bedding and towels and that I would take care of that. Let's go over and do that now." Lisa had other plans for them as well, but she wasn't going to say anything in the living room.

Jack's eyebrows went up. "Oh?"

Lisa laughed at Jack's eagerness to be alone. "You're ridiculous, but I appreciate how gung ho you are to go to Fairfield."

"Can you blame me?" Jack grinned at Lisa and wiggled his eyebrows in a suggestive way.

Lisa rolled her eyes and stood up. "Come on. Let's go."

Jack stood up and went to knock on Amy's bedroom door. "Amy, Lisa and I are going out for a bit."

Amy's voice came through the door. "Okay. We'll see you later."

Jack turned back to Lisa, "I'm ready to go when you are."

"I just need to grab my purse, and then we can go." Lisa went into their bedroom and came back out carrying her purse. "I'm glad I got in the shower this morning before breakfast. Even though I am exhausted, we can just go ahead and leave now."

It was still strange for Lisa to be back at Fairfield and not be living there. With Georgie staying there, she hadn't really had a chance to look around her house since the accident and had only been in the kitchen and living room so far. Lisa walked around, looking at everything, and took notice of all the changes she could remember.

Jack hung back a little and just watched Lisa walk around her house. He worried that she wouldn't want to come back to Heartland. Their relationship had grown and improved a lot, but he didn't know if that would be enough. They had lived apart for many years of their relationship. He didn't want to go back to that, but it was a concern for him that she would want to do so.

Once Lisa had looked around for a bit, she and Jack went and changed the streets and towels and brought the dirty ones to the washer. Then they made their way to the living room and sat down.

Lisa scooted closer to Jack, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulder. She rested her head on his chest and wrapped an arm around his middle. "Nothing against Heartland, but it is nice to be here where it's quiet, and we don't have to worry about family members interrupting us."

"Once we're out in the open, it won't be so bad. Even before you moved in, really from the beginning, we always spent more of our time there. Fairfield was always the place we went when we wanted total privacy." Jack kissed Lisa's hair and pulled her closer.

"I must have liked you a lot to always go to Heartland instead of insisting you come here where we could have some privacy," said Lisa

"The family was going through a lot back when we first got together," Jack admitted. "Amy and Lou were still getting over losing their mom, Ty had just started working at the ranch, and I just felt like I needed to be around. We made it work, and you were there for me and supported me as I parented the girls."

"That makes sense. I forget that you were going through so much back then. I'm glad that I was able to be there for you. I wish I could remember, though.

"Me too. It was a pretty special time. I will always think fondly of that time when we first got to know each other." Jack pulled Lisa to sit up straight so that he could kiss her. The kisses started out slow but gradually became more passionate.

LIsa pulled back and was a bit out of breath. "If we want to continue this, we should move to the bedroom. The couch is nice, but we have a whole bed upstairs."

"Good point." Jack stood up and pulled Lisa up with him.

"We're both too old to be doing that on the couch."

"Who are you calling old?" protested Jack.

"You. I'm calling you old, but I'm including myself in it as well. You're just a lot older." Lisa started to walk away. She saw Jack coming after her out of the corner of her eye and began to jog while laughing. "You gotta catch me first, old man."

Jack started laughing and sped up. His long legs were no match for Lisa, and he caught up to her quickly. He grabbed Lisa by her waist and held her close to him. "I caught you."

Lisa giggled and turned around in Jack's arms. "Yes, you certainly did. She put her arms around his neck and gave him a passionate kiss. When she pulled back, Jack was looking a little stunned. "When you come back to earth, you can join me in the bedroom." She walked off laughing.

Jack moved quickly to the bedroom, sat down on the bed, and pulled Lisa down with him. He was so thankful that they had gotten to this point. He was still nervous that things could go wrong or that she would change her mind, but he decided that he just wanted to be with his wife in any way she would allow and if she currently allowed him to make love to her, then he was going to do it.

Jack chuckled. "No, we didn't. I think you usually keep extra soap here in case you ever need to take a shower. You work with horses, after all, and they aren't the cleanest of animals. Even the pampered horses you own can get dirty. Why don't we worry about these sheets and towels another time and just worry about the stuff already in the washer?"

"Okay, we're going to need to eat lunch too. I don't think there's a whole lot of food here."

"Let's get cleaned up, move the laundry to the dryer, and then go pick up some lunch at Maggie's," suggested Jack. "We haven't been in a while, and it sounds good."

Lisa grinned at the suggestion. "Oh, I could go for a burger and a slice of pie from Maggie's."

The couple made their way to Maggie's. Lisa rolled her eyes as soon as they walked in. Val was sitting at the counter. "Suddenly, I'm not that hungry." Lisa was about to suggest going somewhere else when Scott walked over to them.

"Jack, Lisa. How are you two doing?" The vet looked expectantly at them while holding a to-go cup of coffee.

Jack put his arm around Lisa. "We're doing well. How about you?"

Val had turned around when she heard Scott say their names but had stayed silent until then. Scott was about to respond to Jack's question when she interrupted their conversation. "Jack, I stopped by the house earlier to say hello, but no one was around."

Lisa was annoyed that Val had stopped by. "Hmmm, I don't know where Tim and Jessica were, but Lou and Peter took Georgie to the airport, and Amy and Lyndy were on a long ride. Oh, and we were at Fairfield." Lisa leaned a little closer to Jack.

Jack wanted to roll his eyes at how Lisa and Val were acting, but he knew better. "Yeah, we were taking care of some stuff at the house after Georgie left. We're going to miss her like crazy, but I'm so thankful that it worked out for her to come up and help after Lisa's accident. It was good to have her around for a while."

"Yes, I'm sure that it would be nice to have your great granddaughter home," responded Val. "You know, it never occurred to me that you're a great grandma, Lisa. That's kind of crazy, but considering you're about the same age as Marion would be, that makes sense. I always wondered what Marion would have thought of that."

Scott looked between Lisa, Jack, and Val awkwardly. "I should get going. I had a long night with a foal that was struggling, and I still have some couple stops to make before I head home. It was good to see all of you. Bye."

Lisa and Jack turned around and looked back at Scott leaving. When they turned back, Val was still standing there. Lisa could tell that Val was annoyed that her cattiness had been interrupted, but she wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of continuing it. "We're pretty hungry after the morning/afternoon we just had. If you don't mind, we'd like to sit down and order our food so we're not too full for dinner."

"It was good to see you, Val, but Lisa is right. We do need to eat." Jack nodded at Val and led Lisa over to an empty table.

Lisa looked at Jack gratefully. "Thank you. I really wasn't in the mood to deal with her."

"I know. I could tell. You reminded me of back before we got married and even a little after. Val has mostly left us alone. She does seem to get under your skin, and I've never understood that. I have only ever had eyes for you. She has never been anything but a friend." Jack never did understand Lisa feeling insecure about Val. To him, it was ridiculous to even consider Val as a romantic partner.

"She knows, and she may begrudgingly accept it now, but she would pounce in a heartbeat if she thought she had a chance." Lisa thought Jack was a little naive about the whole thing. She wasn't sure if she should be annoyed that he was so oblivious or endeared that he never seemed to consider anyone but herself as a partner.

The two of them had a quick lunch, bought a pie for dessert after dinner, and then made their way back to Fairfield to pull stuff out of the dryer.

Once all the laundry had been done and Jack and Lisa had folded it and put it away, they made their way out to the truck. Jack was about to help Lisa into the truck when he stopped her. "We should tell the family today. Let's make sure everyone is there for dinner and we can tell them then. Then we don't have to hide how we feel about each other at home anymore. I miss being able to hold your hand while we sit on the couch or kiss you when I come inside after doing my morning chores. We don't have to tell them that we've been slowly getting back together over the last few weeks. We can just leave it at that we're fully back together now and have been since Friday afternoon, but we didn't want to take the attention away from Georgie."

"Okay. You're right that we should tell them. I do want us to be able to be affectionate with each other whenever we want." Lisa gave Jack a hug. "I love you."

When Jack pulled up to the house at Heartland, he looked over at Lisa and asked, "Are you ready for this?"

Lisa took a deep breath. "Ready as I'll ever be."

They made their way into the house. Everyone was already there. Amy, Tim, Jessica, Lou, and Peter were sitting and standing around the kitchen talking, and in the living room, Katie was studying for finals, Lyndy was playing with her horse stuffies.

Tim looked up as they walked in. "Where have you two been?"

Lisa looked at Jack and rolled her eyes. "I told Georgie to leave the sheets and towels, and I'd take care of it. Jack came to help me get the fitted sheet back on the bed. My arm is a lot better, but I remember struggling with it back when I was a lot younger and not recovering from an injury."

The answer seemed good enough for everyone, and they went back to talking about whatever, but Peter was behind everyone else and winked at the couple. Jack coughed a little, and Lou looked up, concerned. "Are you okay, Grandpa?"

"I'm fine. Just got a little tickle in my throat. I'll just have something to drink." Jack walked over to the sink and got himself a glass of water.

Lisa set the pie down on the counter. "We went to Maggies for lunch while the laundry was in the dryer. I picked up a pie for dessert tonight."

"Sounds good." Tim got up and lifted the lid of the pie box.

"That's for later, Tim." Jack scolded him. "Leave it alone."

Tim put his hands up in defeat. "Fine, fine. I'll leave it alone."

"Lisa, did you have anything planned for dinner?" asked Lou.

"No. I had thought about it a little bit, but hadn't decided on anything yet. If you have something you want to make, go right ahead." Lisa was okay not having to cook. She was still pretty tired, and they hadn't really gotten any rest while they were doing laundry like she was hoping. "I'm going to go lie down. I was hoping to rest today, but I forgot there wasn't really any food at Fairfield beyond snacks, so we had to leave for lunch, and I didn't get the nap I wanted."

After Lisa walked into the bedroom and shut the door, everyone turned to look at Jack. "Is everything okay with Lisa?" asked Tim.

"She's fine. She just woke up way too early yesterday and hasn't caught up on her sleep yet." As much as Jack wanted to follow Lisa and talk to her, he knew that he needed to just stay put for the time being. Everything would be out in the open later that night, so he didn't have to keep things a secret anymore.

To Be Continued

Author's note: Sorry for the delay. I've had some pretty bad writer's block and also just had less time to write lately. It took me forever to get to the point that I could post another chapter. I knew where I wanted to go, but I just struggled with how to get there. Hopefully, the next chapter will come more quickly, but no promises. I'm still kind of struggling with how to write this part of the story, but I don't want to rush and just resolve everything without working through the things that I want to do with the characters. Thanks for the reviews!