Jack woke to a finger being jammed into his forehead. He opened one eye to find Rey squatting next to him.

"Hi." She greeted him. "We're nearly to the marina. Thought you might want to put her in the slip yourself."

"Right." Jack said getting up quickly, slightly disoriented. Elizabeth stirred beside him, equally confused.

"I'll let you get your bearings." Rey said before walking away.

"How long did we sleep for?" Elizabeth asked yawning.

"The whole way. Time to get up." He held he hand out to her and helped her to her feet.

Jack pulled the sailboat into the slip with expert ease. They tied her up to the dock, furled her sails, covered her up and headed home, but not before stopping for ice cream as promised.

They arrived home and started unloading the car. "Showers, both of you, before you do anything else." She called to her kids, stopping them before they ran into the house.

James gave an audible groan and Rey pushed him forward "Come on, pipsqueak." She turned back. "Keep it PG out here you two."

"She's cheeky that one." Elizabeth said turning to Jack, who pulled her into him.

"She gets that from you." They said at the same time and laughed. Elizabeth buried her head in Jack's chest.

"Today was perfect. Thank you." She said looking up at him.

"At risk of ruining this perfect day, I do have one question, and please don't take it the wrong way."

"What?" She asked her tone hardening.

"Did you want me to stay here tonight? Because if you do, I'm going to need to go home and get a change of clothes, and maybe have a shower."

She smiled seductively at him "We have a shower here." She said against his mouth. "And I'm sure there's something of Will's you can borrow until tomorrow."

"I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"It wouldn't be weird me wearing your late husband's clothing?"

"I guess your right. Maybe it would be better if you went home tonight. I should probably talk to the kids, make sure they don't get the wrong idea."

"And that would be?"

"I just don't want them to get used to this. I mean eventually you'll have to go home."

"I mean eventually, yes, I'll have to put the house up for sale, get all my shit in order, but that shouldn't take more than a week or so."

"What the hell are you talking about, Jack?"

"Lizzie, and I really want you to pay attention to what I'm saying here, so we don't have any further misunderstandings. I'm not going anywhere. I won't lose you again, and I'm not going to waste any more time pretending that I want to be anywhere else but here. I've missed out on too much, that stops now."

She searched his face for a joke, and finding only deadly seriousness in his eyes she pulled his face to hers, capturing his lips in a passionate kiss. Jack responded in kind, running his hands beneath the back of her shirt, relishing in the familiar softness of her skin. The energy between them hadn't dissipated one ounce over the last fifteen years. Electricity shot through every inch of skin, every touch. Jack reluctantly pulled away, breaking the kiss. "You are right though, I should go home tonight. You and Rey need to talk. She needs to understand and she needs to hear it from you. So after dinner, I will leave."

"And when will I get to see you again?"

"Do you have to open the shop tomorrow?"

"Yes" She groaned.

"What if I brought lunch down to the store?"

"I might like that."

"Then it's settled." He pressed a kiss to her nose before letting her go. Jack was about to take the cooler of fish into the house when a hand on his back stopped him. "You're going to gut those out here, right?"

Jack turned toward her "Is that what you would prefer?" He asked.

"Yes." She said with a wide smile.

"Then, yes. That was my plan all along."

Elizabeth placed a kiss on his cheek and moved to go into the house.

"Where are you going?" He asked her.

"You're not the only one who needs a shower." She smiled sweetly at him before disappearing.

Resist the urge to follow her. Resist, resist, resist. He thought to himself.

—

Dinner came and went, James had fallen asleep on the couch almost immediately. Jack picked him up and carried him to his room. When he came back down Rey was washing dishes in the kitchen. "I'm gonna get going." Jack said leaning against the counter next to her.

"You're not staying?" She asked with an eyebrow raised

"Not tonight. You and your mom need to talk. I mean really talk, ok?" He pulled her in for a hug. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Thanks for today. It was awesome."

"The first of many." He smiled down at her.

"Good." She let go of him and he walked back to the living room where Elizabeth stood waiting for him.

"I can't persuade you to stay?"

"You could, but you and I both know I need to go."

"Can I at least walk you out?"

"Please."

They walked outside and shut the door and Jack brought his hand to her face and pressed his lips to hers. "I do want to stay." He said with closed eyes. He leaned down to her lips again, but pulled back. "No. I can't if I kiss you again, I won't be able to leave."

"Well then leave already, so I don't have to be tortured any longer."

"One more." He kissed her again. "Ok, I'm going." He turned to walk down the driveway, but turned back toward her. "I just realized something."

"What?"

"I don't have a car."

"Hold on." Elizabeth went into the house and came back with a set of keys. "Take Will's bike. It's in the garage."

"Thank you." He said kissing her again as he took the keys.

"Seriously. Leave now or you're not leaving at all."

"Ok, ok. I'm leaving. Talk to her." He added with a pointed stare.

"Yes okay. Bye." She said shoving him away. He turned and headed toward the garage, but turned back around and stole one more kiss before leaving.

—

Jack rode the motorcycle all the way to his house, not realizing his dad had never given him a key. He knocked on the front door and there was no answer. He went around back, still no answer. Sighing, Jack realized he'd have to go down to Josh's to get the key from him.

So he hopped back on the bike and headed downtown.

Josh's Bar was a local staple for as long as he could remember. Josh Gibbs was his father's best friend and subsequently would become Jack's godfather. His father would bring him to the bar after working on his fishing boat and reward Jack's hard work with a finger of whiskey. 'To help you sleep,' he would say. More like 'make good and sure you sleep so you stay out of trouble.' Either way, his memories of this place were always pleasant.

Jack parked the bike and went inside. A dark amber glow hung low in the space, thick smoke meandered about, and a Johnny Cash song was playing in the background. Jack went right up to the bar. "Something strong barkeep." He yelled over the din.

Josh turned around. "Stars and stripes, Jack, is that you?"

"In the flesh."

"Your dad said you were back. What can I get you? It's on the house."

"Nothing for me, Josh. I'm not staying long. I was just looking for the old man, is he here?"

"He's here" a calloused hand dropped onto his shoulder. "Stay and have a drink with me."

"Fine." Jack rolled his eyes.

"Josh we'll have two more of these." He pointed to his now empty glass. "You didn't come home last night."

"No, I didn't."

"Does that mean you two idiots sorted out your problems and the rest of the town can stop pretending that Rey isn't your kid?"

"Everybody knew?"

"The governor may have tried really hard to pull the wool over everyone's eyes and the fact that you never came back, well, it did add to the credibility of the story, but those of us that really knew you two never bought any of it. Elizabeth told your mother the truth, I know that. Your mom really gave her the business about buying into her father's ridiculous notions." Ed laughed.

"Why didn't either of you tell me?"

"Rachel tried in her own way, but you were even more stubborn than Elizabeth…and prideful. Plus Elizabeth was pretty adamant about keeping it from you, so I did what your mother asked of me and stayed out of it. So what happens now?"

"I need to find a house." Jack said taking down his glass in one gulp.

"You're staying?" His father coughed.

"I am. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm in desperate need of a shower." Jack said with his hand held out.

"What? Oh, the keys. Here. Leave the backdoor unlocked." He said handing them to Jack.

"Thanks for the drink, Josh. I'll see you around." Jack said and left.

—-

Jack had only been asleep for an hour or so when he heard a noise. He stirred for a minute trying to recognize where the sound was coming from. He heard the noise again and looked to his window, and was surprised to find Elizabeth sneaking into his bedroom in an oversized sweater and leggings. Jack sat up, but she crossed over to him quickly.

"Don't get up. I'm coming in." She said kicking off her shoes before finding her way beneath the covers.

"What are you doing here?" He asked as she curled into him.

"I needed to see you." She rested her head on his chest.

"You didn't have to sneak in."

"I thought it would be fun. Like the old days."

"When Dad pretended not to know what was happening, but always miraculously found a reason to come up here."

"He almost caught us once."

"More than once." He paused for a moment "Did you talk to Rey?"

"Yes. It was a good talk. I think we both understand each other a little better. She told me what you gave to her."

"It's silly, I know…"

"No. It wasn't." She said seriously, still angry with herself for not believing in him all those years ago.

"Does she know you came here?"

"It was her idea."

"I'm not so sure how I feel about that."

"Well, I could either be here now or be home now. Which would you prefer?" She asked as she sat up, hovering over him.

"This is definitely the better option." He said cupping her face and pulling her back down toward him to claim her lips with his. She gave a soft moan and ran a hand across his bare chest. She maneuvered herself to sit atop him, legs straddling either side of his waist. He ran his hands along her legs, bringing them to rest on her hips and pulling her harder against him. Jack moved his hands up and grabbed the hem of her sweater, lifting it over her head. She moved back down to kiss him and he stopped her by grabbing her shoulders. "No. I want to look at you. I want to relearn every inch of you." He growled.

Slowly Jack sat up, Elizabeth still sitting on top of his thighs, and trailed kisses from her breast bone toward her collar bone, upwards along her neck, finally capturing her lips again. He pressed his body against hers, bare skin to bare skin, hot and wanting. Jack lay her back on the bed and slid her leggings off of her hips.

"You're not wearing underwear." He looked at her with a questioning smirk.

She smiled mischievously at him.

"You didn't just come here to see me. You were going to seduce me." He teased.

"You caught me. What are you going to do to me?" She asked, feigning worry.

"So many things."He growled again and their two bodies reunited in a way that would make the heavens shake and trumpets sound. An explosion of years of pent up emotion and passion exchanged between two souls that undeniably belonged together, that knew the other inside and out, that ended in sated bliss and words of love.

She lay back against his chest, his arms wrapped around her middle, hand splayed across her stomach, his thumb tracing patterns against her supple skin. He had his face buried into her hair, inhaling the sweet scent of whatever shampoo she'd used. "Did you mean what you said, earlier?"

"Of course. I love-"

"No, I mean back at the house. Are you really going to stay?"

"I'm not going anywhere."

"But what about your job?"

"My job goes wherever I go."

"What about all the traveling?"

"That can be tempered, and I think we can arrange a few trips for just you and I, and maybe a few with the kids."

"They have school."

"During the summer, then."

"What about the shop?"

"Lizzie, stop worrying about things before they happen. My first priority is you and Rey and I'll do whatever it takes to make it work for all of us. Not to mention, James is going to need a father figure and what better way to repay Will for taking care of my family than taking care of his."

"So this is really happening? We're gonna do this thing?"

"If you want it, of course, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm all in."

She turned and kissed him.

—

3 years later.

"You couldn't go to school somewhere closer?" Jack asked tossing pancakes on a plate and setting them in front of Rey. "I only barely got through your high school years and you want to up and go half way across the country."

"Dad." She laughed. "I'll be back for christmas."

"Next thing I know you're coming back here with some boy who's asked to marry you and I'll have to let him take care of you."

"I'll always let you take care of me, and whatever boy I do bring home, you can take care of him too."

"I think I have enough people to look after without adding one more." He said looking over to a dark haired two year old tossing blocks out of his play pen. "Billy, keep the toys inside!" He yelled and the young child only giggled, throwing a block in Jack's direction. "I have no control." Jack muttered.

"You never did." Rey said with a smirk, digging into her pancakes.

"Smells good in here." Elizabeth waltzed in grabbing a pancake off of Rey's plate and stuffing it in her mouth before greeting Jack with a kiss on the cheek.

"And how are we feeling this morning?" He asked her meaningfully, placing a hand on her swollen stomach.

"The smell of pancakes hasn't sent me into the bathroom yet. So I imagine I'll get through the day, but mark my words Jack, this will be the last time I'm doing this." She said eyeing his groin.

Jacks eyebrows furrowed. "Noted. Where's James?" Jack asked looking to an untouched plate of pancakes.

"He's protesting." Rey said with a mouth full of food.

"Protesting what?" Jack asked, baffled.

"He's mad that I'm leaving, so he's protesting by staying in bed."

"Jim! Get your ass down here and enjoy your last breakfast with your sister." Jack yelled loudly.

"You make it sound so final." Rey scoffed.

"He's just upset." Elizabeth said stuffing her face with pancakes, thankful the morning sickness had passed.

"Damn right, I'm upset. Did you learn nothing from me? Running away won't get you anywhere." Jack added pointedly.

"I'm not running. I'm having an adventure. I know where my home is." Rey said resolutely. "And that I did learn from you."

The End.