24

The next week went by way too fast for Jamie's taste.

It seemed as if Abby, Lexi, and Phil had just gotten there. Now it was time for them to leave. Abby obviously was unwilling to go, and she cried herself to sleep at the thought of leaving. It hurt Jamie, to hear her sniffling in her sleep. And she could see that it got to Mark as well. He'd grown attached to her, and Abby reciprocated the feeling.

Now they were at the airport, and Abby was trying very hard to hold herself together. Jamie held onto her, and realized that the next time she saw her, she might not be able to pick her up. Either because she would be too far along, or Abby would be too big. The thought did not sit well with her at all. Phil carried her through security after everyone said their goodbyes, and Jamie watched the plane as it taxied down the runway.

Mark rubbed her shoulder, wondering if now was the time to let his secret out. Jamie was trying not to cry, and it was a pretty valiant effort on her part, but it was killing him, watching her as she missed the little girl's presence.

That week he had mad calls, more calls, and plans. He had found a contractor, and had gotten Phil to ask Jamie in a roundabout way if her brother had any contacts in construction. She remembered quite a few actually, because the town was small and the mayor liked to boast that things like construction and roadwork all went to local crews. There would be a groundbreaking, and that would happen within the next week or so. More important were the other calls he made, and the strings he had pulled. He had wanted to wait, to give Jamie the big picture all at once. But he was excited, and he wanted her to be excited as well.

Mark helped her climb into the passenger seat of his truck and he got behind the wheel. Jamie sighed and buckled her seat belt.

"If I thought her mother would go for it, I would buy that kid." Jamie said with a sniffle.

Mark smirked and shook his head. "I would hate to know how much she'd charge. Little bit is one in a million."

Jamie smiled, knowing she had to agree. Of course, she was biased as all get out but that was all right. She loved the kid.

It was that smile that made him go ahead with his plan. "I have something to show you. And something to tell you."

"Uh oh." Jamie uttered ominously. "What is it?"

"Well it's a few things, actually." Mark grinned. "And it would be easier to walk you through it. It is sort of a…uh…multi-stage project."

"Now I'm really worried." Jamie said, but she laughed. So it was going to be a great distraction.

Mark drove them until he reached the cleared road-front near their turn off. He pulled over and walked around the truck to help Jamie down. She looked around, her expression one of amusement as she took in the scenery. Rope and markers had been laid out in a grid pattern already, so that the contractor could get pictures and file for permits, so Mark had a general idea of where everything would go.

"Ok. I give up. Consider me stumped. What exactly is this?" Jamie smiled at him when he took her head and led her down a small incline to the first of the markers.

"This…" He motioned with his free hand. "Is going to be my new business venture. A garage. You're standing about where the parking lot starts." Mark grinned at her wide eyes. "Right over there…" He pointed. "Is gonna be the office and reception where people can wait if they want to. And there…" He pointed again. "The garage itself. We're gonna make it big so there's room for motorcycles and bigger farm equipment…." Mark trailed of, waiting for Jamie to say something. Anything.

She was still taking it in, trying to picture the things he was saying. That he was excited was a given, if he tried to hold it back a bit and wait on her reaction. Jamie grinned brightly. "Are you serious? You're going to open a garage?"

"I'm always serious." Mark said with a wink. "I'm gonna work here too. Ya know. Get outta the house and get my hands dirty."

"Who are you, and what did you do with Mark?" Jamie turned around, letting go of his hand for a moment to really take it in. "And this is something you want? I mean, you'll be out practically in public." She faced him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

Mark bent and kissed her, sliding his lips over hers. "I thought I had enough, but now…" He held her and shrugged. "Now I want more. For both of us."

"I think it's a great idea." Jamie admitted, hugging him. "I'll give you a ringing endorsement. You fixed that old Jeep of mine."

Mark chuckled. "I'm a miracle worker when it comes to vehicles. Eventually…" He paused for a moment, considered. "Hell. For expansion reasons, eventually I might try my hand at building custom bikes."

"Oh yeah?" Jamie was looking at him again, picturing it in her mind.

"Yeah." He kissed her again. "I'm pretty good at that kinda thing too."

"All those hidden talents, and easy on the eyes too." Jamie moved out of his embrace and laughed. "I think you'll be a hit. Low prices, and women from far and wide could come to ogle you."

"I don't know about that." Mark said with a snort.

"I do. I would." Jamie cracked up laughing at the look on his face. "What? Remember when you said I should fire my old mechanic? He was popular because he was so darn cute."

"Oh. Great." Mark laughed and shook his head. "So you're sayin' I'm gonna have to keep a couple of pretty boys on hand."

"It can't hurt." Jamie smirked and squeezed his hand when he reached for her. He was leading her back toward the truck, even though she still wanted to talk about his new venture. "But…"

"There's more." Mark said, shooing her into the truck.

"More? What more?"

"You will see!" Mark got behind the wheel and ignored her questions, smiling enigmatically as he drove up the road and turned onto the nearly hidden path leading to their house. He came to a stop about fifty yards into the tree line and turned the engine off.

"There's nothing here." Jamie said with a smirk. Mark held up one finger as he got out of the truck and once more went around to open her door and help her out. This time, he wrapped an arm over her shoulders and led her to the right, into the woods. She could see that there was another clearing ahead. This one was small, but it was accentuated by being surrounded by trees with orange ribbons tied around them. "What is this?" She asked, stopping in the center. It was about twenty yards across, and fairly flat.

"Well, we're gonna cut down the trees that are marked." Mark indicated the ribbons. "And we're gonna build a house here."

"We are?"

"Well, a construction crew is. The plans are getting drawn up, and should be ready in a couple of days."

"Ok. But why are we building a house? Do you not like your place anymore?"

"Our place." Mark corrected her again. It would not be the last time. He grinned. "Lexi and Phil's."

"Le…wait. What?"

"Yeah. I'm gonna need some help with the garage, and Phil has been running their vet hospital for a while. He said he'd be willing to give it a go here. And Lexi said she'd be willing to relocate her practice." Mark pointed through the trees, back toward the truck. "We'll widen the entrance. Just the entrance. And pave it. So Lexi can have her kennels and hospital right here, next to the house. And Phil is gonna be within spittin' distance if she needs him."

Jamie just stared at him, shocked. "You have really been a busy, busy man."

"This was the easy stuff. You wanna see the hard part?" Mark grinned and took her hand, leading her away from the marked trees. Instead of getting back in the truck, Mark walked across the dirt path and cut through the trees on the other side. There was another area, with younger trees. They were all marked as well, except for a few. There were more of those strings and markers here as well.

"Ok. Let me guess. This is gonna be a football stadium or…" Jamie was snickering. Mark squeezed her hand again.

"Actually, this will be the one that you like best. And this is the hardest one because she took so much convincing. This is where we're gonna build a house for Abby and her mom. Donna's gonna come work for us, and run the office at the garage. She said she used to help out with Steve's when he first started, and she was still doing it at another place before they shut down."

Jamie's eyes were filled with tears. "You aren't joking about this are you?"

"I have never been more serious in my whole life." Mark looked at her and pulled her close, cupping her face in his hands. He used his thumbs to brush her tears away. "I'm gonna do everything I can to keep you happy, darlin'. And I know having that little one here is part of it."

"This is way too much trouble…" Jamie tried to protest. He was smiling though.

"It'll be worth it. I waited a damned long time to start my life, Jamie. But now that I have direction, I'm goin' for it. We're gonna build this place up and we're gonna make it work." Mark cleared his throat and raised an eyebrow. "Would now be a good time to ask you to marry me? Because I'm kinda new at this and I figured…"

He did not get to finish. Jamie pulled him down and kissed him, soundly, until they were both breathless. When she pulled away, he looked into her eyes, all serious business. Jamie smiled. "That was a yes, by the way."

Mark started laughing. He was relieved too. Because he knew that Jamie could be stubborn, and he knew that she would not hesitate to kick his ass if he needed it. He kissed her this time, relieved, happier than he could ever remember being, and wanting her right then, right there. Jamie did not utter one complaint as he pulled her down onto the ground.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~S~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The process actually went a lot quicker than Jamie would have thought possible.

Within two weeks, Mark had gotten all the permission and permits he needed for the construction that would commence. They agreed on plans, and a date to begin. He made it clear that the new homes were to be the priority, because he wanted Phil and Donna moved in, settled, and ready to work as soon as the shop was built.

They were keeping it a secret from Abby still, wanting to surprise her. And Mark especially wanted her in her new house before the start of the new school year. He offered the contractor and his crew bonuses for finishing early, guaranteeing they were working as quickly as they could.

Nearly a month after construction started the house for Donna and Abby was finished. They had cleared enough trees so that Abby had a respectable area to run in. They were in the process of installing fences, more to keep curious animals out than to keep Abby locked in. The house had a log façade, making it look rustic. Inside though it leaned toward the modern with silver and white appliances and cool colors.

It was ready well within their time frame, but Donna did not want to move until she had a chance to sell her house. She was in the process, and she still had not told Abby the news. All the little girl knew was that they would be moving, and that Abby would like her new place. Mark paid out the bonus money as promised, and included a bit extra for the men who installed the carpet and tile, and the painters.

Jamie got sick one morning, seemingly at random. She woke up and rose to her feet, and immediately regretted it. A few minutes later she was calling the clinic for an appointment. Chris did his blood work, and he was the first to congratulate her. Jamie was indeed pregnant.

Chris used a chart, and decided her due date would be March fifteenth. "Beware, the Ides of March." He said cryptically as he marked the date on her chart. Jamie shook her head and tried not to cry as Chris went over her diet and exercise. He also scheduled her a full obstetric appointment, to take place in two weeks. They would listen to the baby's heart beat. Jamie could not wait.

First she had to tell Mark though.

And it just so happened, he made that easy on her too. They ate dinner one evening, sitting in the kitchen, chatting. Jamie was trying to figure out how to best approach the subject. He had known that she was pregnant but like many things from their time after the wreck, he did not remember. So this was going to come as a surprise.

Jamie had just taken a bite of her steak when Mark pushed a black velvet box across the table. She eyed it as she chewed her food thoughtfully.

"It's not my birthday." She said, wiping her hands on a napkin. She picked up the box and turned it in her fingers, looking to him for information.

Mark grinned. "I figured that since you said yes and all, the least I could do was get you're a ring."

Jamie opened the box and peered at the ring. It was white gold, so he earned points. She did not care for yellow gold. She pulled the ring out and looked at it. It was a diamond solitaire, square cut, and it caught the light and sparkled and was just gorgeous. She slid it onto her finger, and admired it from different angles. The diamond was not humongous, for which she was grateful. But it was her favorite cut, her favorite metal, and her size. He had done his homework.

"Since we are giving gifts, I suppose I have something for you, too." She said, getting up and heading for the living room. She had been looking over her test results, which were in a folder, earlier in the day. And she had hidden them under the couch. Now she came back to the kitchen with the folder in her hands.

"Uh oh. We're not married yet, and you're already serving me with papers. Is this the pre-nup?" He was smirking as he opened the folder and read over the single paper inside. She knew the second he got to the line that said she was pregnant. He stopped, the smirk disappeared, and he jerked his head up to look at her. "Are you?"

"According to Dr. Chris. Yes." Jamie let out a breath she had not been aware of holding. Mark tossed the folder aside, got up, and was beside her, grabbing her up into his arms before she could do more than form a protest.

"You're pregnant." Mark said it as if he could not believe it.

"We." Jamie corrected, in the exact same tone he used to correct her about the house. "We are pregnant. And he's due in the middle of March."

"He?"

"Just a hunch." Jamie grinned and accepted his kiss when it came.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~S~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Construction of Lexi and Phil's house, and Lexi's new base of operations, was completed almost two weeks later. Donna and Abby were scheduled to move in the very same weekend, and that would give the little girl a week before school started. Construction of the garage was going well, and it was expected to be completed ahead of schedule, as long as the weather remained cooperative.

The day of Jamie's OB appointment was also the day that two moving trucks would show up. He got a hand from Glen, who was actually pretty eager to help Lexi in her veterinary hospital, to supervise the movers and make sure things got taken care of while he was with Jamie.

He held her hand the entire time, and gripped it with worry when the doctor took his sweet time finding the heartbeat. Once he had it, he turned the machine up so that Jamie and Mark could hear the rapid thump of their baby's heart.

"Healthy, and pretty active in there." Dr. Jones said, scribbling in Jamie's chart. "Let's gain him some weight, and slow him down shall we?"

Besides that one morning of queasiness, Jamie was in good health. She had Mark, she had warm fuzzy baby thoughts, she had a beautiful home and wonderful friends. She did not know what else she could possibly need, or if it were even possible to be any happier.

She let go. They all did. They put the past behind them, and moved on.

They adjusted.

Abby, so happy to be back, to be near to everyone she loved, flourished. She enjoyed school and made friends easily. Donna, Jamie, and Lexi all took turns driving her to school and picking her up, each getting some alone time to hear about all the exciting things in her life.

Donna, Phil, and Mark opened the garage. For the most part, it was smooth going. Mark had hired four mechanics, two of which specialized in farm equipment. They did everything from simple oil changes to full engine replacements, and because Mark did not necessarily need the money, he kept his prices low so that people could actually afford the services. Word got around. His expansion into taking care of motorcycles happened before the end of that year.

Mark preferred the role of mechanic. He left the manager job to Phil, who took to it the way he took to everything. People either liked him or hated him, but everyone respected him because he was a no bullshit type of guy. If he said something would get done, it got done. Donna had her hands full, dealing with customers and the reception staff, of which she was in charge. There were two others who worked with her, hired on when business boomed.

Lexi's veterinary practice was the same as it had been. People eventually found out about her in their roundabout way and came to her with everything from a pet frog who had eaten too much, to a fawn that had been hit by a car. She was happy to say that Glen had an affinity for animals, much like she did herself. Part of that was due to his nature. He was used to helping the scared, the lonely, the weak. It was part of being an empath. And he translated that to taking care of the animals.

On the first of December, it snowed for the first time.

Valerie Rose was born on December first, in the early hours of the morning. She was a healthy little girl with Glen's dark hair and Kayla's eyes. Her parents agreed she was the best Thanksgiving gift either of them had ever gotten.

On the first of December, Mark and Jamie found out that their baby was definitely a boy. The ultrasound went smoothly, and Jackson William – a mixture of family names – looked to be healthy and still active as ever. They decided to marry on Christmas Eve. The date held so many memories for both of them, it felt right.

Mark and Jamie's wedding was relegated to close friends and family only. At four in the afternoon, they all gathered in the woods, all of them dressed for warmth. The official was game, and did not mind that he was reading wedding vows while standing in a foot of snow the day before Christmas. It only seemed fitting. As Mark kissed her for the first time as her husband, Jamie knew that this was right. She was here with Mark, where he had healed her, where he had saved her, and where she had saved him. They had their friends, they had their family, and every year on Christmas Eve, when they returned to this spot, they would have their snow.

-The End