Disclaimer: I do not own the characters within this story. All rights and much respect go to Crown Media, Hallmark, Brian Bird, Michael Landon, Jr., the actors, creators, and writers of the show "When Calls the Heart." Any real people or places noted in the chapter are just there for storyline purposes.

Chapter 11- Boys Will be Boys

Hayden looked disgusted, "What's that supposed to mean; is that your way of telling tell me that you two are sleeping together?"

"Okay boys, knock it off," Elizabeth quickly pronounced. "Hayden, I have plans with Jack, please leave." However, it was as if neither of the men was focused on anything but the other.

"My personal life with Elizabeth is none of your business," Jack quickly snapped back. "By the way, how did you get her address?"

"She gave it to me," Hayden advised as he glanced over at Elizabeth and smiled.

"I most certainly did not. I haven't spoken to you since the gallery opening, and we didn't talk about my new place…wait, you got it from Marjorie, didn't you?"

"Marjorie; who's Marjorie?" Jack asked.

"She's Hayden's secretary and is responsible for dispensing information regarding the fundraisers," Elizabeth advised. "She called me and I gave her my new information." She turned to Hayden, "Did you ask her for my address?"

"I might have; I don't remember," Hayden replied before inhaling, "I smell your famous spaghetti sauce. Why don't you fix Jack a to go plate and we can have some time together."

"Hayden, stop it. Jack is here because I invited him. You, on the other hand…" she stated, but it was evident that his attention was solely on Jack.

"Look Jack, I tried to tell you at the gallery opening, Elizabeth and I have history between us. You need to step aside and let us have time to work everything out."

"No, basically what you told me was that Elizabeth couldn't possibly be interested in a simple detective like me; yet here we are; I have a date with her and you don't."

"Smug, aren't you," Hayden remarked before turning back to Elizabeth. He took hold of Elizabeth's arm and started to walk with her into the townhouse.

"Hayden, let me go," she yelled out as she tried to pull her arm away. "You're hurting me."

"Let her go," Jack stated firmly as he placed his hand on Hayden's lower arm.

"Jack, she's mine…"

"WOW, what did you ever see in this guy?" Jack directed his question to Elizabeth. Before she could formulate an answer, Jack turned back to Hayden, "She doesn't belong to anyone, and if she asks me to leave, I'll leave." Jack felt himself choking on his last statement, praying that it wouldn't come to pass.

"Tell him to leave, Elizabeth. Give us the time to work things out," Hayden's statement was firm and quite demanding.

"Hayden, we don't have anything else to work out. You made the choice when you cheated; I'm done…I was done then, and I'm done now," she was just as adamant as she started walking toward the door.

With her hand on the door knob, Elizabeth was firm, "Hayden, I have plans with Jack…please leave."

"I came here with good intentions," Hayden stated as he stepped further away from the door. "Damn it Elizabeth, you've known this gun toting bully for what…a minute and you're willing to throw away what we have. I don't understand it."

Elizabeth had basically had enough, "Of course you don't get it, but then again I guess you didn't understand me being upset when you brought your nurse home to play house. It's apparent to me that we had nothing then, and Hayden please understand we don't have anything now."

Tears of anger began to fill her eyes, "I'm sorry Hayden. I'm sorry that you can't have what you think you want. I'm sorry that I apparently wasn't enough of a woman for you, but you know what…I have to thank you."

"Thank me, for what?"

"Because I don't think I ever loved you like you need. I'm not the woman for you, and the fact is, you only want me in your life right now because I've moved on. So, I'm asking you again, please leave…"

Hayden made no attempt to leave. Jack shook his head as he released a harsh breath, "Elizabeth didn't ask me to go; she has, however, asked you to leave. It's over between you. Let it go and move on."

Elizabeth felt much like a spectator at a tennis match as her eyes moved back and forth between Hayden and Jack.

"You need to back away from our relationship," Hayden's anger level was obviously rising.

"From where I stand, you and Elizabeth don't have a relationship," Jack answered back.

"What Elizabeth and I have between us is certainly none of your business," Hayden quipped.

"I'm making it my business," Jack stated as he stepped toward Hayden. Feeling that egos were getting into the picture and assuming that the situation may take on physical aspects, Jack took hold of Elizabeth's arm and pulled her away.

Having had enough of what felt like teenage boys fighting over turf, she stated, "Would you both just stop it. You're talking about me as if I'm not even here. I'm not a trophy for you to win or lose, and whether you believe it or not, I have a mind of my own, and I'm quite capable of making decisions for my life."

"Elizabeth, don't be so dramatic. I'm just trying to show you where a woman like you belongs and it isn't with him…" Hayden remarked as he turned his attention back toward Jack.

"A woman like me? Just what is that supposed to mean?" she asked, her voice sounding quite perturbed.

"Elizabeth, you need a man who can take care of you; a man who can give you what you need, and…"

"Stop right there; I don't need a man to take care of me; I'm quite capable of taking care of myself. And as for what I need, that is no longer your business, but since you think you know, here goes…I need a man who is honest with me," her voice was elevated, and her tone was sharp.

At this point she'd practically lost control and began saying things that she wasn't prepared to discuss with Jack. "I need a man in my life who understands that I want to wait until my wedding night to give myself to him, not someone who says they understand and then sleeps around to satisfy those urges he's not willing to control."

Hayden was shocked for even when she caught him with the nurse, she didn't explode. He could only assume that everything was now coming to a boiling point, and he hoped that once the pressure was relieved, she would consider returning to him. "Get it out Elizabeth. I deserve what you're dishing to me, and once your done we can move on."

Having realized what she'd just revealed, Elizabeth was embarrassed; her cheeks were rosy as she took a frustrated breath, "Hayden, you're the one that damaged the relationship beyond repair. I'm not coming back, and you're making it so I can't even work with you on the hospital fundraisers, which is a real shame. There are a lot of people who could be helped by your expertise, but I can't deal with this every time we're in a room together."

"And this is the guy for you?" Hayden snapped back.

"I don't know, and frankly, you haven't given us the opportunity to get to know each other," she glanced between Hayden and Jack. "At this point I wouldn't blame him if he ran for the hills, because frankly if this wasn't my house, I'd be leaving."

"Well Jack, she said you should leave…" Hayden waved his hand toward the door.

"Unbelievable, I guess boys will be boys…" she whispered as she walked over to the kitchen to throw away her now very over cooked spaghetti noodles. She cut the light out before heading toward the stairs. "You two beat all. You're standing there puffing out your chests waiting on the other to push so you can push back."

Standing on the fourth step, she turned around and observed both Hayden and Jack staring at her. "What…?"

"Where are you going?" Hayden asked.

"Well I'm not interested in standing here and watching both of you fight over me like I'm a piece of meat, so do me a favor and keep your voices down. I'm new to the neighborhood and I don't want to develop a bad reputation here," she stated as she continued up the stairs.

"Just leave Jack; I'll take care of her," Hayden stated, his voice was firm and sounded as if he was barking out orders in the operating room.

"I'm not leaving her here alone with you," Jack slammed back.

Both men were back to arguing, "I'm going to bed; please lock up when you two leave…"

Once she reached the top of the stairs, Hayden and Jack continued arguing and it was evident that neither man was even aware that she was gone. Leaving the room in the manner that she had certainly didn't obtain the reaction she'd hoped, so she walked back down stairs.

Hayden pushed Jack, and although Jack stepped forward apparently intending to push back, Elizabeth stepped between the two of them…

"Just stop it, both of you," she yelled just as Hayden swung at Jack, hitting Elizabeth in the face and knocking her to the floor.

Jack immediately turned Hayden around and slammed him up against the wall. He pulled a pair of handcuffs from the back of his pants, and cuffed him before announcing, "Dr. Hayden Andrews, you're under arrest for assault."

Jack quickly returned his attention to Elizabeth who remained sprawled out on the floor. Blood was oozing from an open cut on the outer part of her bottom lip which was either caused by Hayden's ring, or the chair molding which she hit on her way down.

"Oh no…Elizabeth are you okay?" Hayden yelled. Turning his attention back to Jack, he shouted, "Take these off me so I can help her."

"You've done enough," Jack stated before he squatted down. "Elizabeth…honey, are you okay?" Jack knelt on the floor beside her. He brushed Elizabeth's hair out of her face as her eyes slowly opened.

Now madder than she'd probably ever been in her life, she gingerly pressed against Jack's body as she stood up and faced both men, "I want you both out of my house. I can't believe you, either of you. Hayden, you're a surgeon, you should protect your hands, and Jack, you shouldn't allow him to goad you into this behavior."

Elizabeth pressed her hand to her lip, and glancing down, she observed blood, "Release him, I'm not pressing charges."

"Elizabeth, he assaulted you," Jack reminded her.

"I'm well aware of what he did, but if you two hadn't been acting like teenagers, this, none of this would have happened. Please, just release him," she asked as Jack immediately complied.

Elizabeth stood at the front door, "Now both of you leave." She placed her hand on the side of her head and applied pressure in an attempt to avert the headache that was now forming. "I want nothing to do with either of you. Please just leave."

"Elizabeth," both men responded.

"I don't want to hear it," she snapped at both of them as she pulled her hand away and observed that her lip continued to bleed.

"Let me look at your lip, Elizabeth," Hayden asked as he stepped closer.

"I think you've done enough, don't you?" she responded.

Tears formed in her eyes and spilled down her cheeks, "Only hours ago I was yanked on, pawed at, almost raped, and I spent what felt like a lifetime sitting in a pool of blood next to a dead man. So please forgive me if I'm not up to this with either of you."

"Please, just leave…" she held the door but stepped to the side as Hayden, thankful that he'd been released, was the first one outside.

Jack stood beside Elizabeth, "I'm sorry."

She turned back and glanced into his sorrow filled hazel eyes, "I'm sorry too Jack."

With both men outside, Elizabeth closed and locked her front door. She shut off the porch light and headed upstairs to bed.

She went into the bathroom, washed her face and looking closely in the mirror, she was thankful that her lip was now closed, but felt the pain from even the slightest movement. She found it quite ironic that the two men who claimed to care the most about her hurt her worse than the inmates who apparently had nothing to lose.

She slipped into her green, blue and black plaid flannel shorts and black pajama shirt, pulled back the covers and practically fell into bed.

She pulled her journal from her bedside table, but as she sat staring at the blank canvas before her, the anger she felt sadly kept the words from flowing. She closed the leather bound keeper of her secrets and returned it to the drawer in the bedside table.

An hour later she was still laying flat on her back; her eyes remained glued to the ceiling. She heard…

You make me smile like the sun
Fall out of bed, sing like a bird
Dizzy in my head, spin like a record
Crazy on a Sunday night
You make me dance like a fool
Forget how to breathe
Shine like gold, buzz like a bee
Just the thought of you can drive me wild
Oh, you make me smile

As tears rolled down the outside of her eyes soaking her pillow, she stared at Jack's picture on her iphone screen, wanting to answer but still so angry that her fingers refused to press "accept." Once the phone stopped ringing, she quickly heard it chime, which signified a text.

"I'm sorry; I have no excuse 4 my b-havior. Please talk 2 me…"

"Not 2nite; mayb 2morrow…"

"Mayb…?"

"Y don't u trust me…?"

"I do; I don't trust him. Please talk 2 me…"

Realizing that she was not going to sleep, she texted back, "Come over, we'll talk…"

"Now…?"

Not realizing the time, she texted back, "I'm sorry; is it 2 late…?"

"No, I'm on ur porch; I never left…"

"I'll be right down…"

As Elizabeth slipped out of bed and reached for her robe, her phone rang. Assuming it was Jack, she answered it without looking at the screen.

"Impatient are we…?" she asked.

"Excuse me," a female voice responded.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I thought you were someone else…Hello?"

"Hi Elizabeth; this is Darlene, I live next door. I know we haven't met yet, but the Homeowner's Association gives everyone a list of resident's phone numbers…"

"Yes, I believe I received that yesterday," Elizabeth responded, somewhat surprised by the late call. "Do you need something?"

"I am so sorry for calling you so late, but I just went outside to make sure my car was locked and I'm not sure if you know, but there is a strange man sitting on your porch," Darlene advised. "Your lights are out, but I can see a figure sitting on your steps. Do you want me to call the police?"

Elizabeth laughed, "Actually, he isn't strange; he's my boyfriend, and he is the police. We had an argument. I thought he went home but he was waiting around for me to talk."

"WOW, a man that wants to talk; that's nice, unusual, but nice," Darlene stated. "Well, again I'm sorry for calling so late. My husband, Brian, is out of town, so us girl's have to stick together."

"Thank you for letting me know; I'm sorry if we disturbed you," Elizabeth commented before they made arrangements to meet for coffee and then the call ended.

She slipped into her soft, comfortable white robe and made her way downstairs. She opened the door and found an exhausted, embarrassed, and by now a quite hungry, and still by all accounts gorgeous man standing at her door.

"Come on in," she stated as she stepped away from the door and walked into the kitchen.

Jack closed the door behind him and followed her inside. "I'm sorry Elizabeth. I acted jealous and inconsiderate of your feelings, and I have no excuse."

"It's hard to trust; I mean, we don't know each other that well, and I'm expecting you to believe what I'm telling you. I shouldn't expect it, but…"

"Elizabeth, I do trust you, but he worries me…I don't trust him."

"Jack, I know you've been hurt before; so have I, but if nothing else, I'm faithful," she stated. "As far as Hayden goes, I've told you before, I appreciate what he did for Elliott, but that's as far as my feelings for him go. I have no control over how he feels about me, and all I can do is stand firm that I'm not interested. Do you understand?" she asked.

"I do understand; I guess all I can say is I'm sorry," he stated, his voice sounding soft and sincere. "I don't know why I acted that way; it's not me, it's just that he plucks my buttons."

"Jack, you say that you trust me, but you couldn't possibly if you honestly think that I would lower myself and go back to what I had with him."

"I'm sorry; what we've started is so new, and I just feel like I'm on shaky ground here. But Elizabeth, I do trust you, and I want to see where this goes."

Obviously embarrassed by the scope of the earlier discussion between the three of them, she advised, "Jack, I appreciate you hanging around, but I'm sure that finding out everything you did this evening has been eye opening to say the least. Maybe I'm not who you thought I was, and really, there are no hard feelings if you want to walk away now."

"Elizabeth, as I said before I want to know everything about you. As far as the elephant in the room, if I only wanted to sleep with you, I wouldn't have sat out on your front porch for the past few hours," Jack, by his own statement confirmed the type of man she thought he was.

Jack closed the distance between them; he took hold of her hands, "Look at me, Elizabeth."

Elizabeth lifted her eyes to meet his as he continued, "I need you to know that I'm going all in here. I'll remain on the horizon and I won't get too close if you truly aren't ready, but I don't want to get too far away either. I can wait, but if there is any chance that you miss the relationship you shared with him, I need to know."

"Jack, I am so far away from the relationship I shared with Hayden; there is nothing that could bridge that gap. I'd like to move on with you, but we all have baggage, some we can toss out, and some that keeps coming back to haunt us," she admitted.

Elizabeth took a deep breath, "Jack, I can't presume to know how you feel…"

"I'm still here, aren't I?" Jack responded as he inhaled deeply and released a hard breath.

Elizabeth began to laugh.

"Why are you laughing? I've been pouring my heart out to you, and you're laughing at me…"

"I'm sorry; I'm not laughing at you, well, not really."

"Well, you certainly aren't laughing with me, because that would require me to be laughing, and I'm not…"

"No Jack, my next door neighbor called just after you did, and said that there was a strange man sitting on my front porch," she laughed louder. "I told her that it wasn't a strange man; it was my boyfriend…"

"You said that? I mean, you called me your boyfriend?"

"Did I misspeak?"

"No, in fact I told several people today, uh, I mean yesterday, that you were my girlfriend."

"Well, maybe we've cleared that up. Would you like some coffee; maybe something to eat?" she asked.

"Don't go out of your way," he stated sounding quite contrite.

"It's not out of my way, Jack. Is a sandwich okay?" she asked.

"That sounds great." He gently brushed his fingers across the cut on the side of her lip. She flinched, "Ouch…"

"It still hurts?"

"It's sore, and I have a bit of a headache."

"Did you take anything?"

"I did, but maybe I just need some sleep."

"I'm sorry, maybe I should leave."

"Jack, I wasn't sleeping anyway. I'm sorry that I made you leave too, but I just felt like you two were competing for me, and I'm not a trophy."

"I'm sorry; I'm still trying to figure out how to handle him."

"Join the club; I still don't know," she stated as she pulled the step stool over to the counter.

"I have cookies too," she advised as she stepped up onto the stool and leaned against the counter.

"Elizabeth, please be careful," Jack stated, concerned, he stepped closer.

She retrieved the Rubbermaid container of homemade chocolate chip cookies from the cabinet that was just out of her reach. "Here, can you take these?" she asked as she handed Jack the container. Turning on the step stool she slipped, "Aaahhh…"

Jack dropped the container on the counter as his arms quickly grabbed her around the waist and gently placed her feet on the floor. "Are you okay?" he asked.

With her back against the cabinet, his hands released her waist, resting them on the counter on either side of her body, and there was a moment of complete silence. No talking, barely breathing, just a desire between each of them to make everything right in their world.

With a whisper, he spoke, "Do you have any idea how important you are…to…me?" His fingers brushed several strands of hair behind her ear as her head leaned into his hand.

He turned his head slightly, concerned that his question, though not declaring his love, may have sounded too much, too soon. Turning back to face her, he couldn't help continuing with his thought, "When I learned that you were locked in the jail, I couldn't get to you fast enough. Finding you and getting you out of danger was the only thing I could think of."

Elizabeth closed the minimal distance between them as she leaned in and her lips hesitantly, and painfully, but urgently met his. The feeling of warmth she felt way overshadowed the discomfort, as his lips were gentle, tender and loving.

"Does it still hurt?" he asked.

"I'll survive," she smiled as her hand pressed again the break in her lip. "Why don't you go sit down; you're bound to be exhausted."

"I'm fine, let me help…"

She reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a loaf of bread, ham, cheese, lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise. Before reaching into the drawer for a knife she rested her hands on the counter, looked into his eyes, and caught his glance, "I'm sorry that tonight took such a wrong turn. I was looking forward to spending the evening with you."

"Me too," he stated. "I'm just sorry that I reacted to Hayden the way I did," Jack continued as he took the tomato and ran it under the spigot of running water. With a paper towel in hand, he dried it before handing it back to her.

He turned his back to the counter and released a hard breath, "Elizabeth, I've always prided myself on not letting people get to me. I mean, as a detective and even when I was a police officer, I have always done my best to keep my cool; in some of the worst situations, I didn't let people or situations get to me."

Jack, feeling the need to move, started walking around the kitchen. He opened several cabinets looking for plates before turning back to her to apologize again, "I'm so sorry that I let him get to me."

With the knife in hand, Elizabeth looked down as she sliced the tomato before glancing back at Jack, "When I was locked in the jail," she began to share as tears quickly formed, "I wanted you; all I wanted was to see you. Hayden didn't even come to mind," her tears were flowing at this point.

"Please trust me when I tell you that I don't want to be with him. Whether you and I continue to see each other or not, I don't and won't be with him again." She turned away, embarrassed by her emotions.

Jack walked over and took the knife from her hand, placing it on the counter before turning her around to face him. His hands cradled her face as his thumbs brushed away the tears that seemed to freefall down her cheeks.

With his own eyes watering, he whispered, "I'm so sorry that I wasn't there to protect you today." He pulled her into his chest, "I know we haven't known each other for very long, but sometimes I feel like I've known you forever."

They leaned back slightly and with one hand on her upper arm and a finger under her chin, he lifted her face until their eyes met, "I'm sorry if this is too soon for you, but you mean a lot to me." Without saying that he was falling in love with her, he continued, "I don't expect you to say anything back; I just want you to know that you're important to me."

"You're important to me too…"

"Do you have any idea how much I want to kiss you right now?" he stepped closer and whispered; his breath was warm on her ear.

"I see no one here who's stopping you," she responded as her head turned and her lips capture his.

"Go away with me…" he suggested.

"Excuse me?" her shocked expression had him back peddling.

"No, don't get the wrong idea. I just want to spend some time alone with you," he began to explain. "It seems like every time we plan to spend time alone, something happens. I'll get us separate rooms…if it makes you feel better, I'll get us separate hotels…"

"Can I think about it?" she asked.

Wishing that she had jumped at his suggestion, and worried that she viewed his invitation nefariously, he disappointedly responded, "Sure, take all the time you need."

Elizabeth went back to making sandwiches, his with tomato, but hers without, due to its acidity and the discomfort it would cause her. She placed two plates and the Rubbermaid container of cookies on the table. Jack poured two cups of coffee, and sat them down as he took a seat across from her.

They talked about the weather, their families and the last book they'd read. The events of the previous day, including the hostage situation, and Hayden crashing their dinner plans, were intentionally not mentioned.

As for books, Jack reported the last book he read to be "Exit Strategy" by Steve Hamilton.

"Let me guess; it's a crime drama…" she laughed, figuring that his work would somehow bleed over into his private life and interests.

"Absolutely; I try to determine the criminal as I read along. It helps to hone my detective skills," he laughed. "Have you ever watched the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine cartoons?"

"Are you serious? I loved that show. My sister, Julie and I would sit in front of the TV on Saturday mornings and try to solve the mystery," Elizabeth admitted. "She was Velma, and I was Daphne."

Jack laughed, "That was my favorite show too. Maybe the show and my desire to follow in my dad's footsteps had me entering the criminal justice field. I see you as a combination of both characters. Velma was well read, and intelligent, and Daphne was beautiful."

"Well, you're definitely the Fred Jones character."

"Thank you for not saying that I was the Shaggy or Scooby-Doo characters," Jack teased.

Elizabeth's eyes met his as she responded; her tone was very sincere, "No way you could be Shaggy. He was cowardly and more interested in eating than solving mysteries. Now, speaking of which, will you please eat; I know you have to be hungry."

Jack took a bite from his sandwich, "This is good, thank you…"

"You're welcome," she replied before taking her own bite from her sandwich.

"So, what's the last book you read?" he asked.

"To be honest, I don't know. I read anything I can get my hands on. Some of it is for research and some is just for pleasure," she replied.

"Well, we know I like crime dramas, so if you read for pleasure, what type of books do you prefer?" he asked. "No, before you answer, let me guess… romance novels, right?"

She smiled, "I don't think I'm different from most women. I think romance novels are quite popular with the women I know."

He took a sip from his coffee cup, "Just so you know, I find you to be quite different from a lot of women."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't take that the wrong way, Elizabeth. I just find you to be…"

Sensing his hesitancy, she interjected, "Go on…"

"Um, it's just that I…I find you fascinating." His pronouncement didn't obtain the response he'd hoped as her eyes watered. "What's wrong?"

She got up from the table and walked over to her back door. Glancing out into the darkness, she was oblivious to him standing behind her. "Yesterday I wasn't fascinating; I was just a piece of meat…"

"Let's go sit down," he suggested as he took hold of her hand and led her over to the sofa.

He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. The warmth of his body against hers calmed her.

"Do you want to talk about it? I'm here if you do, but we can sit quietly if you don't want to talk."

Her voice started out strong, but as she continued, it began to break, "I was so scared, Jack. I thought they were going to…"

"I know, Elizabeth," even though she couldn't say the word, he knew how terrified she was and why. He put his other arm around her and pulled her into his chest. He kissed the top of her head as his hand gently rubbed up and down her back through the thick robe she was wearing. "You're okay; I won't let anyone hurt you."

Her arms tightened around him as if he was her port in the violent storm that kept replaying in her mind. "Jack, it's not your job to protect me. Besides, you can't always be there when things happen."

They separated slightly as Jack's hands cradled her head, "Elizabeth, I'm so proud of you. You fought; you kept yourself safe; I don't think you realize how strong you truly are."

"Jack, when I was in the dark, the guard on the floor grabbed my leg. I was so scared and I pushed him away. I should have tried to help him," she responded through a flurry of tears. "What bothers me the most is that I did nothing to help him."

"Oh honey, there wasn't anything you could have done for him…"

"But Jack, he grabbed my leg; he was alive…"

"No, Elizabeth it must have been a muscle reflex or something. He was shot in the abdomen and through the heart. He was most likely already gone when you found him," Jack assured her. "I'll be honest with you; I don't think that he would have survived even if a doctor had been with him when it happened."

They sat quietly for the remainder of the night. His hand softly brushed up and down her arm as she fell asleep resting against his chest.

Jack thought about his life, the women he'd dated, and the feelings he had or didn't have with them and for them. Although he'd never been engaged before, he'd had long term relationships with women he admittedly cared about. However, he had to admit that Elizabeth was different.

Never before did a woman occupy this thoughts so completely, or had him thinking about their future when dating. Never before was he consumed by the concerns of someone else when making decisions for himself. Never before did concern over losing a romantic interest bother or worry him more than it did now, more than it did with her, and never before had he felt butterflies.

As the sun made an appearance through the solar panel in Elizabeth's entryway, she began to stir. She stretched, accidently popping Jack in the mouth, leaving a small cut caused by the sapphire birthstone ring she always wore, given to her by her parents on her sweet 16 birthday.

"I'm so sorry Jack," she apologetically announced as she removed the ring which was silver with a round sapphire surrounded by fourteen small diamonds and placed it on the table. She then grabbed a tissue from the Kleenex container on the coffee table.

He took the tissue from her and dabbed at the cut which produced much less blood than Elizabeth's injury the night before. "It's okay," he assured her. That's a beautiful ring, painful, but still beautiful. Do you mind me asking who gave it to you?"

"My parents; the only other time I've had it off was when I went to the jail. I didn't figure it was smart to be too flashy," she stated as her thumb gently brushed across his lip. "I'm sorry Jack."

"It's fine; yours is much worse," he replied as his mouth pressed gently against the opposite corner of her lips. "Did that hurt?"

She shook her head softly back and forth, "No, it was actually quite nice."

Checking his watch and realizing that he needed to be at work in a few hours, he stood up from the sofa. "I don't want to leave you, but I need to go to the precinct. The Captain wants to interview you today. Are you up to it?"

"I need to get it done," she stated as her phone rang.

Seeing the early hour, she was concerned when she realized that the call was coming from her father's phone. "Daddy, is something wrong?"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes sir…"

"I'm sitting here reading your article online…"

Suddenly there was silence on the other end of the phone. "Daddy, are you still there?"

She could hear the emotion in his voice as he responded, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine, but I have a favor to ask you…"

"You know you can have whatever you need," he responded.

"No sir; it's nothing like that. There's a deputy who helped to protect me and…daddy, it's not safe for him to go back to the jail. Could you interview him for a position in the company's security department?" she asked.

"You give him my number and I'll see where we can put him," Mr. Thatcher promised.

"Thank you daddy…"

"Anything for you, sweetheart."

As the call ended, Jack was already standing by the door wanting to give her privacy. She walked to the door, "Do you have any idea how I can get in touch with John Blanton?"

"I think our office has a list of all the deputies," he replied. "I'll see if I can get his info for you."

"Thank you."

Jack opened the door and stood on her front porch, "I'll call you later."

"Okay…thank you, Jack."

"I didn't really do anything."

"You stayed…"

He stepped closer, "Somehow my heart is telling me that I don't have a choice." He kissed her forehead and before she could respond, he was on his way to the street where his vehicle was parked.

Elizabeth watched as he slipped into his Jeep. He pulled away from the curb and waved to her as he headed down the street and out of sight.

She stepped back inside and closed the door. Walking upstairs she slipped into the guest bathroom, and glanced at her lip in the mirror. Thankful that it remained scabbed over, she hoped that it would be healed completely soon.

She giggled internally as she thought about her desire to have Jack's lips on her hopefully healthy ones soon. Suddenly she blushed as embarrassment consumed her. She thought about the information revealed the previous night and the fact that after finding out that she was virgin, he didn't back away. Was it because he thought he could change her mind or did she actually mean enough to him that he was willing to wait?

She walked into her bedroom, sat on the side of her bed and pulled her journal from her bedside table. Flipping through the ever increasing number of entries, she stopped at the next blank page. She momentarily closed her eyes, took a deep breath and tried her best to focus. In the quiet of her room, she found her thoughts, feelings and emotions to be practically all over the place, as she did her best to convey them onto the blank canvas…

"As we go through life, experiencing new adventures, and dealing with traumas of varying degrees, standing firm on our own two feet is important; feeling strong and competent is essential, but realizing the need at times for assistance is imperative. It is necessary to understand that strength of character and ability to be self sufficient do not negate the need for help at times, and that accepting assistance does not make you weak or incompetent.

Dealing with the past, anticipation of things to come, the promise of today and the dreams of tomorrow cause our hearts to pound and our palms to sweat. Our thoughts drift to the possibility of new beginnings ahead as we learn from the mistakes of our past. However, we remain accepting of the opportunities that present themselves, a willingness to keep our hearts open to the passions that may await us. Are we prepared? Could we be moving too fast? Is this what we want?

Breathe…think through your feelings, but never allow them to control you, for sometimes you need to just trust that everything will work out fine. Relax…que sera sera, whatever is meant to be, will be. Don't be so afraid of the possibilities that you shut down and close yourself off from the wonders of the world. Close your eyes, inhale a cleansing breath, and realize that no matter what, some of the best days of your life have not yet occurred."

Elizabeth washed a load of laundry, including Jack's sweatpants before jumping in the shower and preparing herself for questioning at the police department. She stood in her bathroom and completed her makeup, doing her best to cover the bruise on the outside of her mouth.

Planning to drop Jack's dress shirt off at the cleaners on her way to the police precinct, she draped it over her arm as she grabbed a bag containing his freshly laundered sweatpants and headed out the door.

An hour and fifteen minutes later, Elizabeth walked out of the Captain's office, her interview having been completed, and not being nearly as stressful as she thought it would be.

She walked around the precinct hoping to run into Jack, but with him nowhere in sight, she headed for the entrance. Standing in the parking lot, she caught a glimpse of someone running towards her. Initially startled, she was somewhat calmed when she heard him call her by name.

"Elizabeth…" John Blanton slowed down as he approached her.

"What are you doing?" she asked, somewhat surprised to see him there and in uniform.

"I was interviewed by Internal Affairs, but I'm on my way to work."

"How can you work over there now?"

"I don't have a choice, but thankfully with everything now out in the open, all eyes are on our department and I actually feel safer than I have in a long time."

"My father owns Thatcher Industries."

"WOW, that place is huge."

"Are you interested in a security position there?"

"Am I ever…absolutely yes…"

Elizabeth reached into her purse and grabbed one of her father's cards. "This is his private number," she pointed to the upper right hand corner of the card. "He's expecting a call from you. Just tell him that you're the deputy who helped me."

"You didn't have to do that."

"I know but you didn't have to talk to me, or protect me, so I want to help you if I can."

"Thank you; that's very nice of you."

"Best of luck to you John," she stated as she observed Jack pulling into the parking lot.

John was gone by the time Jack approached, "That was the deputy, wasn't it?"

"Yes," she confirmed, "And I gave him my father's information."

"Are you just getting here?" he asked.

"No, I've already given my statement."

"Why didn't call me? I wanted to be here for you when you came in."

"Oh, here are your sweatpants," she handed him the bag. "I washed them."

"Thank you; you didn't have to. Elizabeth, why didn't you call me?"

"Jack, you did enough for me last night, uh and this morning. I didn't want to bother you."

As she leaned up against her car, her eyes quickly found his lips and the small cut in particular. Forgetting that she was in public, her arm lifted and her thumb brushed gently across his lips. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay; it was an accident," he replied as his lips met hers, careful to remain clear of her injury. "Are you leaving now?"

'Yeah," she stated as he opened her door. Before slipping into her car she turned back to face him, "Is the offer to go away still on the table?"

To be continued…