Chapter 3

"Lisa? We're here" Jack softly spoke from the driver's seat. She shook off her thoughts and sighed, not at all prepared for the event she was dressed so somberly for. She turned to look at him as he turned off the truck and unhooked his seatbelt. He reached for her seatbelt and gently released it, gripping her hands in his.

"You ready?"

"No" she replied honestly. He trailed one hand up her arm and behind her shoulder pulling her upper body toward him a bit, and kissing her softly on the forehead.

"We have a few minutes, you want to just sit here a moment?" He cupped her cheek and tilted her head up to meet her eyes with his. She smiled sadly at him and turned to kiss his palm.

"No, it's ok. But thank you. Just…stay close?" She teared up at that, reluctant to admit how much she needed him today, but knowing he knew anyway.

"Of course, Lise, I'll be right here with you." At her nod, he climbed out and came around to her side to escort her in. Before she stepped away from the truck so he could close the door, he pulled the edges of her coat together and buttoned it. She smiled, touched by his care, even in the fairly mild weather and the short walk into the funeral home. They walked together into the foyer, and she was glad to see most of the family had already arrived. She'd been indecisive about what to wear and had become overwhelmed by all the activity at home, so Jack had asked everyone to go ahead, and they'd come a few minutes behind. Those few minutes of silence had done wonders, and she'd been able to calmly finish getting ready. She squeezed Jack's hand as Rachel approached, internally sighing at her sister's very low-cut dress. She wouldn't say anything, but it irked her that Rachel couldn't even dress appropriately for Evelyn's funeral.

"Lisa! You're finally here!" Lisa sighed as she met Amy's gaze as Rachel hugged her. Amy understood the question in Lisa's eyes and held up both hands to signal they'd been there about 10 minutes, so they hadn't been waiting long. She pulled back from Rachel and let Jack slip her coat off gently and smiled at Lou as she took both of their coats from Jack to hang in the nearby coat closet. Rachel continued to talk through it all.

"Ben and Krista should be here soon, they got delayed in customs. I can't believe that, how hard is it to process people through quickly? He's a Canadian citizen after all." Lisa sighed internally for what felt like the hundredth time in the few days her sister had been there, as she continued to complain about Ben's travel home. Rachel had actually been very helpful with getting the service arranged, so Lisa was thankful for her help, but she'd still been her chaotic self, and had begun to annoy the funeral director. She was sure they would be glad to have this service over with, if only to be done with Rachel. She watched as Lou expertly led Rachel over to the coffee and smiled in thanks when the younger woman looked back to catch her eye, and then turned when Lou nodded, gesturing to Lisa to look behind her. She turned in confusion and smiled when she saw Ben and Krista hurrying in. He met her gaze and quickly strode to her, wrapping her in a hug. She felt her tears rush back as she clung to her nephew, so glad he'd been able to make the trip.

"Hi honey" she said, voice thick with emotion.

"Hi Aunt Lisa. I'm so sorry." The stood in an embrace for a moment, until she heard Jack behind her.

"Ben, glad you got here okay. We were just being told that you were delayed at customs." Jack shook Ben's hand as he and Lisa separated, and she moved to give Krista a warm hug as well.

Ben and Krista exchanged a look Lisa couldn't define and Ben spoke with humor in his voice.

"Yes, I figured mom was telling everyone all about it. Has she called the airport to complain yet?" Jack glanced at Lisa in mirth and she was overcome with feelings of relief that she had people in her corner that understood what her sister was like.

"Well, she didn't say anything about a call, but I'm pretty sure she's giving Lou a detailed rundown right now." Jack gestured over his shoulder and Krista peeked around his tall frame. She squeezed Ben's hand and looked at Jack and Lisa.

"Well, I'll go rescue Lou so you three can catch up for a minute." She smiled and slipped away at Ben's "thanks babe." Lisa smiled as she watched Ben watch his fiancé, the look in his eyes making her happy. She was so glad he'd found Krista and that they obviously made each other very happy.

"How are you doing Ben?" she asked gently.

"Oh. I'm…doing ok. It's hard you know, but I'm so glad we went to Brussels last month to see her. She and Krista really hit it off when they met, so we had a lot of fun." Lisa watched his face carefully as he paused. "it's weird she's gone though. I always kind of thought she'd just live forever." Ben's expression lightened as he seemed to remember something. "But I'm supposed to tell you that I've spent too much time with you Uncle Jack, as Aunt Evelyn wishes that I would shave more." Lisa burst into laughter at that, knowing that was something Evelyn would say. Ben had taken to keeping a close-cut beard the last several years, and she thought it suited him nicely, but Evelyn had continued to prefer clean shaven men. The three laughed together and Jack added "there were times when she was visiting when I would just give in and shave so she wouldn't say anything." A loud voice interrupted their laughter and Lisa cringed as her sister aggressively barreled through her and Jack to fling herself into her son's arms.

"Ben! Oh thank god you made it, how could we start without you. Krista was just giving me more details about your TERRIBLE time in customs." Lisa bit back a laugh as Krista came up next to her and muttered under her breath "I didn't say it was terrible." She squeezed her soon to be niece's hand without looking at her, for fear they'd both start to laugh.

"Really mom, it was fine, no need for panic. Let me go greet everyone, alright?" He rolled his eyes toward Lisa as his mother pulled him away to go greet Lou, Peter, Amy and their girls, Krista squeezing her hand once more, before trailing behind Ben and Rachel. Lisa kept back with Jack and he placed an arm around her shoulders to pull her into his side as they watched everyone say hello to Ben and Krista with hugs and laughing, and a few tears due to the sad occasion. She chuckled as Ben teasingly measured Lyndy's height against his own. He hadn't seen the girls in person for several months now, so she knew he was likely shocked at how tall Lyndy and Katie had both gotten. Jack gently nudged her toward the family as the funeral director came out and motioned for their attention. They spent the next several minutes taking instructions on how the service would flow and he led them to the receiving room off the foyer as the first guests arrived.

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Hours later, Lisa curled into Jack on the couch, in front of a roaring fire, the family all gathered in the living room reminiscing about Evelyn, telling other family stories and enjoying each other's company after the sad day. Evelyn's service had gone wonderfully. Lisa, Ben and Rachel had all made heartfelt speeches, Lisa being glad Rachel's brief comments had remained respectful. Many of Evelyn's friends had shown up and it had ended up being a lovely celebration of her life. Even so, Lisa was glad to be back at home, with just the family. She'd even gotten to speak with Georgie for a while, the young woman sad she'd been unable to fly home for the service, though she'd be there in a few days. It had warmed her heart that Georgie had taken time to call and talk with her.

Her sister was missing from the group, having predictably left the house not long after they'd arrived back at Heartland. Rachel never had dealt well with people's emotions, and she'd "suddenly" had an old friend call her up to catch up in town. She'd left in a flurry, saying she'd see them all the next day and Lisa and Ben had just exchanged a look, knowing it was a lost cause trying to get more from Rachel after all these years.

Lisa laughed as Ben told a story about when Evelyn had met Krista's parents and mistook them for random tourists when they got to the restaurant they were meeting at in London and proceeded to give them very detailed information about where they could find food that was "more palatable to Americans". Krista was from Salt Lake City and had met Ben in London on an extended work trip. Once she got serious about Ben, her parents went out to visit and Evelyn was the first person in his family they met. They had warmed up to one another as the visit continued, but Lisa got the feeling the two times she'd met the couple, that Evelyn still put them slightly on edge. Their later meeting with Rachel had been chaotic, as expected with Rachel, and though they were very kind to Ben's mother, Lisa knew it would likely be a contentious relationship, especially between Rachel and Jillian, Krista's mother. When Lisa and Jack had met them the previous year, they'd become fast friends thankfully. Jack and Marcus bonded over their love of fishing and a simpler life, and Lisa quite liked both Marcus and Jillian. She thought they were wonderful parents, if a little too doting on their only child at times, and very warm, loving people. They had welcomed Ben with open arms, and he seemed to be quite fond of his future in-laws as well.

Jack's quiet voice came from beside her as the younger generation got caught up in stories about meeting one another and meeting in-laws.

"Doing alright Lise?" she tilted her head up to meet his eyes and smiled tiredly.

"Yes, I really am. This is just what I needed after today. Just, spending time with the family and laughing." He kissed her head and chuckled as a yawn suddenly escaped her, practically cracking her jaw with its intensity.

"Well, you are also tired, so why don't you head to bed? Looks like there might be a shift soon anyway, the littles are wearing out." He nodded toward the chair next to the couch and she chuckled as she saw Katie and Lyndy curled up together, Lyndy already sleeping on Katie's shoulder and Katie fighting to keep her eyes open and stay part of the fun. She nudged Amy on the other side of her and motioned to the chair. Amy smiled as well and stood amongst the conversation to get Lyndy. The little girl didn't even twitch when Amy scooped her up, and she smiled in thanks at Katie, getting a tired nod from the teenager. As Amy disappeared down the hall with Lyndy, Lou spoke up.

"Katie honey, you should head to bed too, you look like you could fall over at any minute." Lisa spoke as well when Katie tried to protest.

"You should Katie, you're obviously tired. I am too, and am headed for bed myself." Lisa tiredly stood, with a helpful boost from Jack and gently pulled Katie to her feet. The girl hugged Lisa tightly, and Lisa's heart clenched. Katie had been wonderfully attentive at the service, making sure Lisa had tissues, or food, or coffee when she needed it, but not making her talk. She'd just flitted about, in and out of Lisa's vision, always there if needed. She gathered her beautiful goddaughter/great granddaughter close and held onto her. She pulled back as Katie spoke.

"You going to be okay Lisa?" The worry in Katie's eyes was obvious and Lisa stroked a hand down the girl's arm and squeezed her hand.

"I'll be okay sweetheart, thank you for being there for me today, you were wonderful." Katie smiled in relief and hugged Lisa again.

"Love you Lisa."

"I love you too, more than you know." At that, Katie ambled off to her room, saying goodnight to everyone on her way out. They heard her mumble goodnight to Amy as they passed in the hall and Amy re-entered the living room.

"Well Lyndy's sleeping like a log, she didn't even wake when I put her pajamas on." Lou and Peter chuckled, and Peter said "What do you bet we find Katie sprawled in her bed in her clothes in the morning?" Lou laughed and nodded in agreement. Lisa laughed too, but stepped toward her bedroom.

"Well, I'm beat, so I'm gonna head to bed, but you all can keep visiting if you want." She waved Jack back down as he stood. "Honey, stay if you want to, I'll probably be sleeping within a few minutes." He shook his head, assuring her he was tired too and would follow her in a minute, but stepped out of the way as Ben approached. He pulled Lisa into a hug and she breathed out heavily, feeling her emotions well up again as Ben held onto her like he had as a little kid.

"I love you Aunt Lisa". Her heart clenched again, feeling so cared for and loved that day. It was making it hard to ignore her feelings like she wanted to do.

"I love you too honey. Thank you so much for taking the time to come home for this." She pulled back and smiled at him. "We'll see you here for lunch tomorrow?" He nodded in confirmation, and she squeezed his shoulder.

She turned to walk to the bedroom, quietly saying goodnight to the room, noting yet again the odd look on Lou's face when she threw a tired smile her way, filing it away again. She heard Jack telling Ben and Krista to drive safely back to Fairfield, but that they could stay and visit as long as they wanted. Before long, he had followed her into the bedroom and quietly shut the door. She sat on the edge of the bed, just staring up at him, suddenly at a loss for what to do or say next. She gasped out a sudden sob, the days events catching up with her, and Jack made his way over, kneeling down in front of her, grasping her hands in his.

"Lise, I know you don't want to let yourself feel this, but I think it'll help to let it out." At his gentle encouragement to lean into him, she pitched forward into his chest and sobbed. Her heart hammered in her chest and she tried to take in air as it all came out. She'd cried the day she'd gotten the call, but she could admit that she'd made it through the following days by being a little robotic and hadn't really let herself feel it since those first moments after finding out. After several minutes, her sobs lessened as Jack's strong hands soothed her grief, rubbing along her back slowly. He gently pulled away and stood. She winced as he got up and she heard his knees crack, knowing it couldn't have been good for him to be crouched down like that. He waved her off when she opened her mouth to apologize. He gathered her robe off the hook and took a fresh towel out of the closet and gently handed them to her.

"Go take a hot shower, it always makes you feel better. I'll turn things down in here and we can try and get some sleep." She nodded as he led her to the bathroom, and they paused as a burst of laughter rang out from the living room, followed by one of them urgently shushing the others, only for laughter to break out again.

"Want me to ask them to stay quieter?" He asked her. She shook her head.

"No, it's comforting, let them have some fun together." He nodded as she leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "Thank you honey, I'll be out in a few minutes."

She walked into the bathroom, smiling when she saw a new bottle of her favorite shower gel on the counter. She'd run out the week before and had been using Jack's. She had no idea when he'd gone out to get it, but was touched at the little gesture.

After a soothing hot shower that she'd lingered in longer than usual, she walked back into the bedroom 20 minutes later to the lights down low, just the bedside lamps shining, and soft music playing from the small stereo on the dresser. Jack was sitting in the chair already in his flannel pants and a t-shirt, reading a book, and looked up with a smile when she walked out in her robe. He nodded to the bed that was turned down invitingly.

"I took out some pajamas for you, but feel free to choose different ones if you want." She smiled as she reached the bed and picked up the navy-blue pants and shirt set he'd picked. It was one of her favorites as the weather cooled, soft and comfortable, but not too warm. Jack liked them too, often commenting on how soft they were when she wore them, and then delighted in letting them slide off her body on their more intimate nights. She smiled at that thought, then sighed, wishing that was something she felt in the mood for tonight.

"These are perfect honey, thank you." He nodded and didn't hide the fact that he was staring as she slipped out of her robe and pulled on the pajamas. His eyes glinted in the dim lights, and she tiredly delighted in the fact that he still looked at her that way, while knowing he wasn't going to suggest anything tonight. Her husband knew her well, and she knew he was trying to make sure she was relaxed so that she could get a good night's sleep. Even as she knew nothing would happen that night, she reveled in his eyes on her and winked at him when she slipped her top over her head and settled it into place. He grinned at her and ambled over, scooping up her brush from the dresser on his way. He stood behind her and gently pulled her brush through her wet locks, knowing after all these years it would be a tangled mess in the morning if she didn't brush it. She closed her eyes and sighed, relaxing into his gentle care. Before long, he had smoothed out her hair and was kissing her cheek.

"C'mon Lise" he nudged her into bed and helped her settle, pulling the covers up around her and she lazily watched as he clicked off her lamp, and walked around to his side of the bed. He settled next to her, and she immediately cozied up next to him, resting her head on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her. He kissed her forehead, and she closed her eyes, sleeping before he'd even reached out to turn off the other lamp.

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While Jack and Lisa settled in for the night, the younger generation stayed up laughing together, occasionally shushing one another in laughter when they got too loud. Ben regaled them with stories of Aunt Evelyn when he was a kid, and of Lisa teaching him to dance Thriller when he was 8. While Lou listened to Ben praise Lisa for everything she did for him growing up, she felt even worse about how she'd been treating Lisa. Peter noticed her silence and slipped his hand into hers. She'd finally spilled everything to him earlier in the evening, once Lisa and Rachel had left for Fairfield. She'd been nervous to tell him, but he'd just held her and told her he'd be there to help her figure things out. Why she'd ever thought she could live without Peter Morris, she would never understand. He was an absolute gem. She leaned into him and tried to discreetly dry her tears, but Krista noticed.

"Lou, are you okay?" Lou awkwardly shifted and looked up as everyone turned to look at her.

"Oh, I'm…" she floundered, but when Peter squeezed her hand, she was reminded that he'd told her last night that her and Lisa had something in common, they often resisted sharing their deepest feelings with their family. Lou was quick to share her surface emotions, but Peter had learned years earlier that she only shared the ones that didn't make her feel vulnerable and had encouraged her last night to let people in more. She took a deep breath and continued.

"I just…hearing all these stories about Lisa from you Ben…I've recently come to the realization that I haven't been as good to Lisa all these years as she's been to me, and I'm working through how to rectify that." She spoke it all in a rush, not accustomed to sharing things like this, and was grateful when Amy jumped in as well.

"Yeah, that goes for me too Ben. Lisa has been so great to us, and we have not been very good about showing her how much we love and appreciate her. We want to do better."

Ben looked down at his lap for a moment, and when he looked back up, Amy and Lou were surprised to see tears in his eyes too.

"I get that actually. You know, when I was here all those years ago, I wasn't very nice to Lisa those months. She'd been like a real mom to me my whole life, and I just kept pushing her away during that time. It took me a long time to realize that she actually was trying to help me. We're obviously close again now, and have been for years, but I still feel guilty about it sometimes. She's…everything to me. I could not have managed my childhood, or even now, without her love and guidance."

Amy chuckled thickly and spoke from next to Lou. "Well, I think we can all agree that Lisa is great, and Lou and I are gonna make sure she knows we think so. I'm so glad she's had you Ben, and now you Krista. Hopefully you've filled in the cracks a bit when Lou and I don't do so well." Lou nodded in agreement, and they all went quiet for a while.

Ben spoke up again and lifted a bit of the weight from Amy and Lou. "Well, I hope you both know it can't be as bad as you seem to think it is. I've never known Aunt Lisa to be happier than she has been here at Heartland. She knows you care."

Amy and Lou thanked Ben, and Peter smoothly changed the subject to something less heavy. They all talked and laughed a little longer and then saw Ben and Krista off at the door before it got too late.

Lou let Peter lead her to their room after saying goodnight to Amy, and as they settled into bed, she gripped his hand, glad he'd convinced her to open up.

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The next day, as Lisa and Lou prepared a simple lunch of sandwiches for everyone, Lisa eyed Lou over the table as they finished getting things ready. Lou had been quiet that morning, and kept looking at Lisa like she was going to say something, and then clamming up again. Lisa had been patient, but it was so out of character for Lou to not say what's on her mind, that Lisa was ready to hear whatever the younger woman wanted to say. She set down a jar of pickles, and looked at Lou.

"Alright Lou, spit it out." She raised her eyebrows at Lou and waited as Lou gaped at her.

"What?! Spit what out?" She darted her eyes around and Lisa bit back a smile.

"Lou, I've known you for almost 18 years. You've been trying to say something to me all morning." Lou looked at her and finally dropped her shoulders while sighing.

"You're right, sorry. I should have known you'd notice." She pulled out the chair in front of her and dropped into it, gesturing to another chair for Lisa to sit. That just made Lisa nervous, so she slowly sat down, trying to prepare for whatever Lou was about to say.

"So, here's the thing. You remember Marni?" At Lisa's nod, Lou continued "Well, she was out with her husband last night to see his brother's band play a gig at a bar in town. She text me this morning that there was a woman there being a bit…obnoxious. Pretty obviously drunk and trying to hit on all the men. Apparently, she got into an argument with the bar tender and kept shouting that they should know who her father was and gave them his name like she would then be able to do whatever she wanted." Lisa closed her eyes, already suspecting where this was going. She held up a hand to pause Lou's story and opened her eyes again.

"Let me guess, Matthew Stillman was her father?" At Lou's grimace and nod, she dropped her head into her hands and muttered "Just how embarrassed should I be?"

"Well…" when Lou paused, she pulled her head back up and looked at her, noting she looked hesitant and was now fiddling with her phone. Lisa glanced down at the phone and back up to Lou's face.

"There's a video?" She asked, dreading the answer already.

"Yeah, and Marni sent it to me, but she's not the one that took it. One of her husband's friends did and sent it to them. I'm sorry Lisa, I really didn't want to add to your stress, but I thought you should know before Rachel comes for lunch. Do you…want to see the video?"

"Not in the slightest" Lisa emphatically responded "but, could you just…give me a brief summary, so I know what I'm getting into?" She watched as Lou nodded and set her phone down.

"Well, when the video starts, she's already shouting at the bar tender and then the owner comes and she starts in about who her father and sister are and that she should be treated like returning royalty, while taking drinks from other customers hands and smashing the glasses on the floor. Then she's umm…dancing on a pool table, and some clothing is removed before she's booted out of the bar."

"Oh good lord" Lisa dropped her head into her hands again. It wasn't as bad as she was expecting, but still mortifying. She'd done her best to rebuild her reputation here after Rachel had moved to Toronto 25 years earlier and of course, within a few days of being back, Rachel was en route to demolishing it again. Hopefully, since she was just visiting, it was a one off, and people would kindly forget about it after a bit. Lisa had just looked back up at Lou when they heard a car pull up outside. Lou got up to look out the kitchen window and turned back to her with a grimace on her face.

"Speak of the devil." Lisa sighed, knowing Rachel had just pulled in but relaxed a little when Lou continued "Oh, but Ben and Krista rode with her, that's good" she turned back to Lisa "I'm sorry Lisa, I didn't want to ruin your quiet, relaxed morning, but thought you should know."

Lisa waved off Lou's concern and stood to go greet Rachel, Ben and Krista. "It's alright Lou, I'm glad you told me. Will you tell your grandfather while I greet them though? I'd like him to know too." Lou nodded and squeezed Lisa's hand before she swept out of the house, greeting their guests as she went. Lisa heard her tell them lunch was about to be ready, and she was off to find Jack and Peter. Lisa put a smile on her face and went to the door, warmly greeting her family and ushering them mumbled a reply, not removing her sunglasses and trudged through to the living room, practically falling into the couch. Lisa internally sighed, knowing from Lou's story that Rachel was very likely extremely hung over. She was surprised Ben had even been able to get her here for lunch. She shook it off when Krista gently touched her arm, and offered the younger woman a smile and just shrugged, knowing Krista was getting used to Rachel's behavior as well. They silently agreed to let it rest and Krista offered her help getting the rest of lunch on the table, and she and Lisa finished up as everyone else came to the table. They all crowded around the table, Rachel even making it to a chair and seeming to gain a second wind once she started eating, and before long, happy conversation was flowing as the food was passed. Lisa caught Lou's eye across the table and smiled, nodding her head at the concern in Lou's eyes, assuring her she was alright. She turned her head when Jack squeezed her knee beneath the table.

Lisa smiled in relief when Rachel perked up and stayed pretty calm through lunch and carried on more normal conversations. She clutched Jack's hand beneath the table, once again feeling glad that her sister's visits tended to not last long, and now that the funeral was over, she would likely be going home soon. Lisa used to feel guilty about being glad they lived far apart, but the older she got, the less patience she had for Rachel's continued messy life, and she tried not to feel guilty anymore, knowing her sister was a grown woman, and needed to take care of herself.

She smiled at her husband, glad he was by her side, and joined in the conversation with her family. Things would settle in the next few days, she was sure, and they could get back into a normal routine.

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Thank you! Chapter 4 coming soon!