The Wedding Bouquet

Set immediately after the season 3 finale, after Elizabeth catches the bouquet.

Chapter 1

Proposal

Jack laughed to himself as Elizabeth caught the bouquet at Rosemary's wedding. He reached down to his pocket to make sure he still had the engagement ring. After what happened with the land slide, him almost dying from pneumonia and learning that Elizabeth refused to leave his bedside when he was sick, he decided he didn't want to wait any longer to ask her to marry him. "Life is too short" he thought to himself. He decided he wanted to propose after Lee and Rosemary's wedding. Now that Elizabeth had caught the bouquet, he wondered briefly if it might seem silly propose now, like he believed in the tradition that the woman who catches the bouquet is the next bride. Then he remembered the original reason he wanted to propose tonight and decided to go ahead with his plans. He was certain she would say yes (or at least he hoped she would) and he really did not want to wait any longer.

Jack waited until after the bride and groom cut the cake before approaching Elizabeth to see if she wanted to take a walk with him.

"Jack, I would love to take a walk with you, Jack." She replied with the bright smile that he loved so much. He held out his arm for her and she placed her hand in the crock of his elbow. They walked down to the pond and sat down on a bench. The moon light shimmied on the pond, cast a light glow on her face. "Elizabeth is so beautiful." He thought, as he tried to calm his nerves by taking a few deep breaths.

Elizabeth hears him breathing and turns to him with a worried expression on her face. "Jack, is everything okay? You sound like you are having trouble breathing. Do you think the pneumonia is coming back?" She puts her hand on his forehead to see if he has a fever. She released her own deep breath when she felt his forehead was cool to the touch.

"No, I feel fine. I want to talk to you about something and I am a little nervous,"

"No need to feel nervous, Jack. You know you can talk to me about anything. "

Jack takes one last big breath. "Elizabeth, I have been doing a lot of thinking since the land slide and me getting sick. About the future, our future. When I watched the (miner's) last few minutes of life and heard him talk about how much he loved his wife and son, it really got to me. Then I got sick and found out that you never left my side the whole time, I knew it was time. I realized how short life is and I didn't want to waste any more time without telling you how I feel." He stood up from the bench, pulled the ring out of his pocket and dropped to one knee. Elizabeth gasped and brought her hands to her mouth as she realized what he was about to do.

"Elizabeth Thatcher," he looked up at her face and saw tears forming in her eyes. He felt tears in his own forming. "I love you more than I ever thought possible. You are my only one. When I do think of the future, I see you in my life, you and a family." He paused and took her left hand. He kissed it before he continued. "Elizabeth, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Elizabeth opened her mouth to try and answer him but nothing came out. All she could do was nod her head yes before her voice returned. "Yes, Jack, oh yes. I would love to become your wife and have you as my husband. I love you so, much!"

Jack expelled a breath he didn't realize his was holding before he took the ring out of the box. He slipped it on her finger and then kissed it, this important symbol of his love for her. He reached up and wiped the tears of joy from her face and she did the same. He then stood, still holding her hand and lifted her up from the bench. He walked her a few feet away from the bench before he picked her up and twirled her around, expressing his happiness.

"Elizabeth, you have made me the happiest man in the world. " As put her down and bent to kiss her, passionately.

Elizabeth laughed. "Well I think Lee has that title tonight. Maybe we should keep our news to ourselves tonight. I don't want to upstage Rosemary at her own wedding."

"You may be right. I wanted to rush back to the café to tell everyone but we both know Rosemary. While she will be happy for us, she would never forgive us for stealing her moment. "

"Jack, how about we do this? I will give you back the ring, for now" she said as she saw Jack start to protest. "We will go back to the café and see if Rosemary and Lee are still there. Once they leave for their honeymoon, you give me back the ring and we make the announcement to whoever is still there. The rest will have to hear it on their own this week. We know Abigail and Frank will still be there, and your mother. "

"That is a good plan, Elizabeth. I can handle you not wearing the ring for a short time. Just don't give it back for good." He teased.

"Not a change. I love this pretty ring. It is just what I wanted." She gazed at the ring. Jack had purchased at sapphire ring, which had a small stone with tiny diamonds around it. "Jack, I have always wanted a sapphire engagement ring and I love small settings. I think larger settings are too gaudy."

A big smile spread on Jack's face. He was a little afraid that she would have wanted something larger but to see her so pleased with the ring he selected made him feel warm inside. "God, I love this woman" he thought. He leaned over to give her a kiss. "Well, I guess we should go back. They must be wondering where we are by now."

"Yes I supposed we should." Elizabeth replied. "But for the record I would love to stay here a little longer."

"Me too. We can always come back after the party breaks up. Or we could have a picnic here tomorrow after church. We could talk about what we want for the house and maybe discuss some plans for our wedding."

"I would love that, Jack." She said as Jack held his arm out for her again. "I hope this isn't too forward of me, but I am not one for long engagements. I agree with you that life is too short. Would you have a problem with living in the row house until our home is ready? Then we could get married sooner." She looked at him expectantly. She knew he was a proud man and he may want to have their home built first.

Jack stopped and looked at her. He smiled before he said "No it's not too forward of you. I am not one for long engagements either. I have no problem living in the row house with you for the first few months of our lives. You bought that house with the money that you earned teaching. Once we get married we will share our wages for things we need for our home." He kissed her again. "Why don't we both think about wedding dates tonight and we can discuss them tomorrow?"

"That sounds perfect, Jack. I love you!" She said as they walked up to the café.

"I love you too, so much." He kissed her one last time, then pulled the ring off her finger, safely putting it in its box.