A/N: It was my intent to publish this before Christmas, but time got away from me with the actual holiday. :) I hope you enjoy it even though Christmas has past.

The door swung open and a blast of wind blew through the house. "Mom, we got it!" Elizabeth looked over at her young son, who was peeling off his heavy coat. He dropped it on the floor, and she shook her head. He often forgot to hang his coat on the hook beside the door. Behind him was Cody and Pastor Frank. They shivered in the lingering cold as Pastor Frank closed the door.

"All the animals are taken care of for the night, James?" Elizabeth asked. She and Abigail were finishing up some cookies that were ready to be baked.

"Yup!" He snooped around some of the cooling cookies, trying to find one to eat without anyone noticing.

"Don't touch." Abigail said with the flip of a spatula. "They're for Santa." James laughed, pulling his hand back. Cody leaned into Abigail's side, and she wrapped an arm around him. "I guess it's time to go home. Did you have fun with the animals?" Cody nodded. "Cody would love to live on a farm, isn't that right?" He nodded.

"Thanks for letting me help Mrs. Thornton." Cody said looking at Elizabeth.

"Thank you for your help, Cody. And you too, Pastor Frank. I don't know how we would have managed without everyone's help while Jack has been away." She said, thinking of her husband who had to travel far for a trial. It was bad timing, Elizabeth had said when he received word, especially with Christmas approaching. Trials could last for quite some time, but Jack had assured her that it wouldn't. He had assured her he'd be home for Christmas. But now with the snow falling and temperature dropping, Elizabeth was starting to worry.

"You're welcome." Frank said, bringing her out of her thoughts. "And we'll keep Jack in our prayers." Elizabeth smiled gratefully. Frank turned to Abigail. "We better get going; the snow is starting to fall." Abigail nodded, moving to get her coat. Hugs were spread around as the three readied to leave. Elizabeth and the children waved goodbye as their wagon took off towards town.

Once the door was shut and locked, Elizabeth looked over her children. James was helping his little sister, Hazel, her youngest, with a coloring book. The two were spread on their stomachs in front of the fire. She looked over at Maggie, still adding sprinkles to the cookies. They needed to finish icing the last set which would be done soon.

"Mama?" Maggie called. Elizabeth made her way over to the kitchen table. "Are these okay?" She asked. Bending down and wrapping an arm around her daughter's shoulder, Elizabeth beamed and nodded.

"Beautiful. You're so good at this, Maggie."

"Dad said I didn't get it from you." She grinned.

"Really?" Elizabeth straightened up. "He said that, did he?" Maggie nodded and started to laugh.

"He said you were a terrible cook." She giggled.

"Well, I haven't heard any complaints from you or your siblings." Elizabeth put her hands on her hips, feigning annoyance, while inside she was ready laugh. Jack would always joke about her lack of cooking skills when they first met, how she made a lopsided cake once and stone hard biscuits.

"You're good now." Maggie said. Elizabeth leaned down and kissed Maggie's cheek.

"I'll definitely have to talk to your father when he comes home." She went over to the oven to check the cookies. James was suddenly by her side, his hand on her arm.

"When is Dad coming home?" He asked. Elizabeth looked at him, tall for a ten-year-old, and with his father's eyes and dark hair – the spitting image of Jack.

"Hopefully tonight, but I don't know James." She looked out the window. "It's snowing and very cold. It might not be safe for him to travel." James frowned. Elizabeth smoothed back his hair. "It'll be okay. We want him to be safe, right?" James nodded. "He'll be home as soon as he can, don't worry." James left her side with a frown. He went back to the floor with Hazel, and Elizabeth let out a long breath. More than anything she wanted to make her family complete on this Christmas Eve. They had already spent dinner with Frank, Abigail, and Cody as they usually did. The children had helped make cookies, finish decorating the tree, and even opened a small gift after dinner. But Jack was missing, and his absence was felt, too much. Looking out the window at the quickly falling snow, she could only hope wherever he was, that he was safe. There was no use hoping for him to come home in this storm.

Sometime that night, after the children were tucked in their beds asleep, dreaming of presents under the tree and the presence of their father, Elizabeth woke to a strange noise. At first, she opened her eyes, reaching over to Jack's side, momentarily forgetting he was not home. The noise was loud and out of place in the quiet of their house. The loud banging repeated over and over. Grabbing her shawl and shivering, she went to the window. The barn door was clapping noisily. She swore James said he closed it and wondered now if he had forgotten. Sighing, she grabbed a pair of Jack's work pants, pulling them under her nightgown. Even in the quick trek to the barn, she'd freeze with nothing underneath. Downstairs in the kitchen, she lit a small lamp before wrapping herself in her winter coat and slipping her feet into Jack's boots, still sitting lonely by the door. They would at least get her through the snow. Taking one last glance at the house, Elizabeth headed outside to take care of the door.

Pushing the door back, Elizabeth fought hard against the wind to get it closed. As she leaned into it and readied the lock, she felt it push back. Naturally, she leaned more of her weight onto the door, but still it pushed back. "What?" She whispered to herself. She shoved, and still the door pushed back. Finally, she let up, allowing the door to open.

"Elizabeth?" In the dark, she could hardly register his face, but she would always know the sound of Jack's voice.

"Jack?" His hand clasped her wrist, pulling her into the barn and his arms. Her mouth broke into a smile as she threw her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "What are you doing here?" She asked against him.

"I'm home."

"But why the barn?" She pulled back, her hands remaining on his arms. Jack only smiled.

"I was taking care of my horse. What are you doing out here?" He looked over her. She was a mishmash of clothes, some of which he noticed were his. "Dressed like that?"

"The door woke me up." She replied. "I didn't want it to wake the children, so I came out here to close it." Jack nodded. She hugged him again, breathing in the scent he carried, wood and earth and wind. He must have traveled long. When she pulled away, her hand slid over his face, a day or two's stubble, but still the lines were the same. "I'm so glad you're home." Jack leaned in, his hands tightening on her waist, pulling her to him, and kissed her softly, remembering the feel of her lips and how it felt to hold her in his arms. When they pulled away, Jack brushed back a stray piece of her hair, that must have taken flight in the wind. He looked her over again and chuckled. "What?" She asked.

"The outfit." She rolled her eyes at him. "It's pretty good." He fingered the side of her nightgown, which looked silly over his pants and under her long coat. "Boots too." He remarked, wondering how she even made it through the snow in the boots which were much too big for her.

"I didn't want to freeze, Jack."

"I can't believe you even came out here in the middle of a snow storm and the night."

"Let me remind you that I did work in a mine once." She said with a smirk. Jack began to nod, remembering her face, full of soot, as she exited the coal mine so many years ago. She was so strong, and it was a quality he loved about her – her ability to face any challenge head on.

"Right, how could I forget?" Jack said.

"But can we go inside now?" She shivered, stepping closer to him. "I am freezing." Jack laughed, holding his arm for her to slide hers into as they walked to the house.

Once inside, Jack took a moment to add wood to the fire, while Elizabeth took the boots and coat off. He looked around the house which was decorated for Christmas. The children's homemade ornaments were hanging on the tree, and he could smell that she had made cookies.

"Do you want something? Tea? Food? I have leftovers from dinner." Jack shook his head, walking toward her. He slid his arms around her waist and brought her closer to him.

"No. I'm just glad to be home." He kissed her lightly on the lips.

"Me too." She said. "The children will be so excited tomorrow."

"I can't wait to see them. But right now, I'm ready for bed." Elizabeth nodded, smoothing down his collar. "I'm going to get cleaned up, and then I'll be in." They headed toward their bedroom.

Elizabeth slipped back under the covers, waiting for Jack to join her in bed. She was so happy he had made it home safely and in time for Christmas. It was truly a miracle, and the children would be surprised and excited. It was the perfect Christmas gift.

The next morning, Elizabeth woke to a sliver of sunlight, sneaking in from behind the curtain and a slow creak of her bedroom door. She listened, laying still next to Jack. She didn't want to wake him. He had fallen asleep immediately after lying down. The door opened further.

"Mama?" It was a tiny-voiced whisper. "Mama?" The little body came into view. It was Hazel.

"What is it?" She asked, as Hazel came to the side of the bed. She reached out for her.

"Can we open presents?" Elizabeth smiled. "James and Maggie are awake."

"I see." Elizabeth whispered back. She looked over her shoulder at Jack's back, his chest steadily rose and fell with each breath. She wanted to wait for Jack. He could use more time to sleep. "Well-"

"Mom? Can we-" It was James now coming through the door, Maggie trailing behind him. He must have noticed the other body because he stopped mid question. "Dad?" He said loudly. Elizabeth tried to shush him, but there was no stopping James. He scrambled over his mother to get to his father, and the two girls followed suit. All three children were in bed, trying to wake their father up.

"Children-" Elizabeth began, but Jack woke up. He was surrounded. James to his side, on his knees jumping in excitement, Maggie scrambling over his chest, and Hazel slowly and with difficulty, trying to pull herself onto the bed. Elizabeth picked her up, pulling her into her lap as she sat up.

"Whoa, whoa." He said as the kids gathered around him. "Who are these children, Elizabeth?" He said, pretending to not know them. "Did they come under the tree."

"No silly," Maggie said giggling. She touched her hands to Jack's face. "We live here!" Jack made a surprised face before leaning up to kiss Maggie on the forward.

"Dad? When did you get home? Last night? Were you cold? Mom said it might be dangerous for you to travel, but you made it!" James looked back at Elizabeth, who was only smiling. Her family was back together.

"Yes to last night James, and yes it was dangerous." Jack scrunched his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes to show how scary it was. "And I did make it, just in the nick of time." He looked at Elizabeth, whose eyes shone with adoration. "So," Jack started, taking a deep breath. "Should we go downstairs? It looks like Santa left each of you something." Their eyes got wide, and the two elder children began to clamber off the bed, causing Jack to groan as they kneed and elbowed him on their way down. "We'll be right down." Elizabeth helped Hazel who took off down the hallway. Jack took a moment, looking at Elizabeth. "Well that was certainly a flurry of excitement." Elizabeth stretched her hand out, taking Jack's into hers.

"They're happy you're home. We're all happy you're home." She squeezed Jack's hand. "Well, I guess we better head downstairs. They'll be chomping at the bit to open their gifts – the many gifts." She pushed her covers back. "My parents were generous, perhaps too generous this year." Jack only smirked. It was much like the Thatchers to go overboard for their grandchildren. Jack had stopped his protests early on, arguing with their generosity would do nothing.

He watched Elizabeth tighten her robe around her body and head for the door.

"Elizabeth." He said reaching for her, pulling her back to him. He slid his arms around her middle, and she laid her hands on his arms. She looked up at him, expectantly, waiting. He leaned closer to her, their lips meeting in a soft and long kiss. When he pulled away, he stared at her, the blue eyes that had always captivated him and the lips that he never stopped longing to kiss. "This is home, you and them." He said softly. She smiled and reached up to kiss him once more. It was the perfect complete Christmas.

A/N: I do not own any of The When Calls the Heart Series. Reviews are always welcome! xoxox -B.