I hope you don't hate me too much for making Tom and Kate sleep together, but I felt that it was a way to show Kate how much she really did love and need Jack. It also evened the playing flied a little with Jack having been with other women.

Here is the latest chapter! As always let me know what you think!

The rain was music to her ears. She was washing their dirty clothes and while she was doing so Gracie was sitting on the counter top watching her mother. Gracie loved to run around and play, but she was also content to just watch her mother. As much as Kate loved and protected her daughter, Gracie did the same for her Mother. Gracie worshiped the ground that her Mother walked on and hated when her she seemed sad or hurt. Growing up with no father Gracie sometimes would pretend that it was just her and her Mommy against the world and they would have to slay dragons, defeat mean pirates, and fight evil monsters that lived in the woods.

Kate had been washing the same shirt for the past five minutes peering out the window looking out into the rain and lost in her thoughts.

The little girl spoke bringing Kate's attention to her daughter, "Mommy do you love Tom?"

Kate was taken aback by the little girl's question. Gracie was giving her that serious look the one that she could tell that her daughter could look right into her soul and just know exactly what she was feeling and thinking; it was the same exact look that Jack would give her when he was worried or considered about her. She noticed that Gracie was holding onto the heart necklace that Jack had given her.

"When did you become so grown up? Little girls should not worry of such things." Kate then lightly blew the foamy soap towards Gracie which caused the little girl to get in a fit of giggles. It's not that Kate did not want to talk to her daughter about such things; it was just that since Gracie came into this world she promised herself that she would never lie to her daughter and always try to do the best thing for her daughter no matter what the cost.

" It is alright Mommy I miss Jack too."

"Gracie, what in the world gave you the idea that I miss Jack?" Kate then looked around in a panic manner to see if Tom was anywhere near by.

"Mommy I have seen the way that you look at Jack and the way you look Tom and I know the way you look at me. You look at me and Jack the same way, but not Tom. I know that you love me and that means that you must love Jack as well."

Kate just smiled at her daughter's view of the world it was pure and innocent that it cut through all bullshit and just saw what was true and that was love.

Kate hated that she was subconsciously teaching Gracie not to pick love, but when it went up against watching her daughter becoming a maid and watching her work for that terrible woman.

"Gracie you are right I do miss Jack, but we have to forget about him. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"

Gracie then clutched her heart necklace even harder and closer to her own heart. Gracie then moved her head franticly back and forth.

"Gracie please, help me out here."

"No Mommy, you maybe able to forget about love, but I don't want to."

The tears began to fall from both of their eyes.

"Gracie you can never forget love, Jack will always be here." Kate then pointed to Gracie's heart and then her own heart. "Nothing can take that away, not time, money or people. Jack will always stay there in your heart, but we live with Tom now and the both of us have to focus on our new life."

"I don't want to! I want to go back to Jack and Rose Mommy, we where happy there!"

" Listen to me Baby girl sometimes we have to do things in life that at the time may not seem like the best thing in the beginning, but down the road it is what works out best for every one. This is our new adventure, you and me against the world right?"Kate the leaned her forehead against her daughters forehead and they just stayed like that for moment.

"You and me, Mommy." Gracie then put her little arms around her Mothers neck. Kate lifted her up and just held onto her. Letting Gracie know that no matter what happened in her life she would always have her.

Tom then entered the room and saw that both of them had tear stained faces. "Is everything okay in here?"

" Mommy, I'm much better now, can I go play?"

" Sure." Kate then put Gracie down so she could go run off to play. She also noticed how her daughter did not even acknowledge Tom.

Kate then looked at Tom, who was still waiting for an answer. "Everything is fine. Gracie is just having a hard time adjusting to her new life here. She misses Rose and all her other friends." Kate would not dare say that she missed Jack to Tom. If that slipped out she knew matters would get ugly.

"Are you sure that she is not the only one having a hard time adjusting?"

"Yes Tom! I'm sure." She snapped back at him.

"Sorry, I'm just checking to make sure that my girl is happy." Tom then moved over to kiss her on the lips, but Kate moved her face so that he ended up kissing her on the cheek instead. Something that did not go unnoticed by Tom, but he choose to brush past it.

"I think I know of something that will make Gracie feel more at home here."

"What Tom? I'm willing to try anything to make my little girl happy."

" Let me take her on a walk once the rain stops and I will explain to her that I'm her father that I'm here to look after her and care for her."

" I don't know Tom. That could backfire she already has so much changing going on around her and I don't know if adding one more change to that pile will help any. I don't like the idea of lying to my daughter."

" Did you ever tell her that Jack was her father?"

"No."

" See this could be a good thing. To think that little girl has been walking around feeling like she does not have a father. When she hears that it is me she will feel more bonded to me and her new home."

"Maybe it might be a good thing, but I should go with you just in case she handles the news badly."

"Katie I really think that it should just be the two of us. How are we ever going to bond if you're always there?"

"I suppose your right, but if she gets upset at all you promise to bring her straight back to me?"

"I promise, Katie."

A couple hours went by and the rain let up, but the sky still remained grey waiting at any moment for the rain to fall again.

Tom took Gracie on a walk by the river bank like he said he would.

Gracie had been blissfully walking along the river bank in her own world.

Tom decided that he would break the spell and bring Gracie back to the world that she actually lived in. "Gracie, honey do you what a father is?"

Gracie just looked up at Tom and nodded her head.

"What if I told you that I am your father?"

Gracie then looked at him funny, "You're not my Father. It is just me and Mommy against the world."

"That is how it was Gracie, but I'm here now too look after you both. So it does not have to be just you and your Mommy anymore."

Then out of nowhere the sky began to drop big rain drops a few at time and then a down pour. Tom picked up Gracie and he ran to his house luckily they had not traveled too far.

Kate was now holding Gracie in a warm blanket sitting right by the window looking out into the storm that thrashed and rumbled outside it had not let up any for the past couple of hours. It was much worse than the morning's peaceful rain.

Tom lit a fire for them and he was now smoking his pipe.

"Katie I need to go work on the books for the store up stairs. Will you and Gracie be okay down here?"

"We will be fine Thank you Tom."

Gracie snuggled closer into her Mother as the thunder roared.

"Mommy?"

"Yes, sweetie?"

"Tom is not my Father is he?"

God why was she asking her this, it was one thing for Tom to lie to her about this, but she could not.

" Gracie, what makes you ask this?"

" I don't know. I just don't feel like he is, but if you say he is I will believe you Mommy."

"Gracie, the truth is..." before Kate had a chance to finish her statement the lighting cracked outside illuminating the outside. Just for a second she saw the figure of a man outside.

"Gracie did you see that?"

"See what, Mommy?"

"There is a man out there. You be a brave girl for Mommy and stay here, I need to go check and make sure that man is okay out there and not hurt."

When Kate stepped outside the storm raged making it too hard for her to walk through the thick wind and rain.

When she got closer she saw who it was and shock over took her.

"Jack? What are you doing here?" It was difficult to shout through the rain and Kate was not sure if she went to him first or if he was the one that drew her into a hug.

Jack did not answer her question right away; he was just content to hold her. The feel of her in his arms again made him want to cry.

When Jack backed away just a little to look at her face, Kate found that she was wobbly on her feet and she needed Jack to support her up. When they locked eyes it was almost if words where not needed they just knew with one look how much love the other felt.

Once again Kate was not sure who made the first move, maybe it was both of them as their lips crashed together both opening their mouths instantly wanting to have as much contact with the other as they could. As the rain fell down upon their bodies it glued them even more together as if they were becoming one mold.

When they broke from the kiss from the lack of air, Kate began to get a hold of her bearings, yet she still held onto him for dear life. "Jack, we can't do this. It is just going to make everything that much harder when you leave."

Jack then whispered into her ear, "I don't want to leave you."

"Jack please don't do this." Her plea came out weak and almost forced.

"Kate, look at me." Jack then gently grabbed a hold of her face and turned it up, so that she was now looking him in the eyes.

"Do remember when you said that you did not belong in my world?"

Kate then nodded her head slowly.

" I have been thinking over this past week about what you said and how miserable I am with out you in my life. Not just this past week, but these past three years I have been a lifeless man without you. I can't change the world that I was born into or what has already happened, but I can change the here and now. Something that I realized is that I don't want to live in a world where you don't belong. Kate come with me. You, me and Gracie lets get away from all this unhappiness."

Excitement burned in her eyes, but then was replaced with a worried look. "What about Tom? I can't just leave him Jack. He is my oldest friend and he is a good man."

"You don't love him. Not in the same way that you love me. You even said it the other day and if that was not enough proof the way we kiss and make love just shows me that we are each other's true loves, but if you say that you and Gracie are happy here without me I will walk away again for you."

"No don't go!" Kate said in a panic tone. "We are not happy with out you. I think about you all the time and I wish every second that I was with you."

Jack then captured her lips in another breath taking kiss.

" Let me take care of Tom. I will deal with him in a way that men understand. You just get yourself and Gracie ready to leave."

"Jack don't hurt him."

"Kate I promise I will not lay a finger on him. All I'm going to do is talk to him."

Kate got Gracie and herself ready in hurry.

"Mommy is everything okay? Why are you packing all are things together?"

"Baby we don't really have a lot of time to talk now, but we are going on a new adventure, but this time we are going with Jack." Kate then stopped what she was doing and got down on her daughters eye level "Do you want to go? I know it is a lot of change in a short amount of time." Kate wanted to make sure that this was okay with her daughter; she felt that she had already put the little girl through too much.

The little girl's face lit up with excitement and she eagerly started helping her mother pack.

Jack knocked on the door and walked into the room that Tom was working in. Tom jumped up startled by the soaking wet man barging in.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Hello Tom, it is good to see you again." Jack said in a calm voice; way too calm for Tom's likening.

"Get out of my house!" Tom yelled.

"I will very soon, but I think you know why I'm here."

"No! You can't take them they belong to me now."

"That is were you are wrong Tom, they never belonged to you . Gracie is very much my daughter and Kate is still my wife I have it writing. What do you have Tom? You have no real claim over them. I'm going to go get my girls now and there is nothing that you can do about it."

Tom became desperate he was trying to think of anything that he could do to keep them. Then he blurted out, "Kate maybe pregnant with my child, do you really want a woman that could be carrying another man's child?"

Jack felt as if he had been punched in the gut, but now he knew how it must have felt for Kate having to share him with his other wives, the only real person he had to blame for his pain was himself. "Tom I know this maybe hard for you to understand, but I love those girls with all my heart. I don't care if she is carrying your child. I'm going to go get my girls now." Jack then began to walk away from Tom.

"Don't you dare walk away from me?" Tom then turned him around and punched him in the face. "If Kate is pregnant you have no right to take that child from its Father."

By some miracle Jack remained calm and like he told Kate he did not touch him with a finger. "Tom I did not want to talk about Kate this way, because I have a little more respect for her than that, but you have left me no choice and if Kate is in fact pregnant there is bigger chance that the child is mine. We made love the night before she came to live with you."

Tom stepped back in shock and Jack left without a second glance.

Jack then got Kate and Gracie and put them on his horse and they rode off into the storm. Jack did not want to travel very far with the heavy rain beating down on their bodies. He rode to the shore where his family owned a cottage to over see the ships coming and going.

The sea had gone crazy with the storm and the waves would crash into the shore it would cause the salty water to go everywhere. Jack tied up his horse as Kate held Gracie and ran into the cottage. There was no dry wood for a fire so they had to make do with the small lantern that provided their only from of light. They stripped off their wet clothes and wrapped themselves in the dry blankets trying to avoid getting sick. It had not yet been ten minutes and Gracie was already fast asleep. Jack went to go put her in one of the two beds. He made sure that she had plenty of blankets and he wrapped her up tightly and kissed her on her cheek. He just watched her for a moment he could not express the joy that he felt in his heart looking down at this beautiful creature and the fact that he could spend the rest of his life with her and watch her grow into the wonderful woman that he knew she was going to become.

When Jack returned to Kate, he found her looking out the window at the unruly sea. He went behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist and she leaned back into him.

" God I have missed you so much." He whispered into her ear. Then he turned to see that she had fresh tears running down her face. "Hey Kate what's wrong?" Worry coming from his voice and he turned her around in his arms and began to wipe away her tears with his thumb.

Her sobs became worse once she looked him in the eyes, "Jack I slept with him. It didn't mean anything and I wished that hadn't."

Jack then cut her off before she had a chance to finish, " Shhh, Kate don't punish yourself. If anything you should be blaming me for forcing you into that situation. When really I should have just gone away with you both in the first place, but I was too stupid and scared to do so."

Jack then bent down and kissed her remaining tears away.

"Listen Kate we have an ugly past that I wish I could change, but it was not all bad because I have you and Gracie from that past. You have changed me into a better man, when before all I cared about was power and money. So, let's just start a fresh new life together and not focus too much on the past, you can pick where we end up and what we do. I don't care if it is a life on the sea as long as I'm with you."

"Jack let's worry about that tomorrow when the daylight comes. Right now I just want to make love to you." Kate then stepped up on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips. Before she knew what was happening Jack picked her up bridal style and carried her into the other bedroom and gently placed her on the bed all the while his lips never breaking from hers.

He then slowly removed the blanket that was covering her body and he began to place sensual kisses all along her body taking his time with every inch of her body.

When he finally entered her they both gasped in pleasure. Even though they had made love many times before, there was something different about this time. It was almost with each thrust, kiss, and touch they were wiping away all the hurt and pain from their past and making the slate completely clean. They both climaxed together declaring their love for one another as they did so.

They made love through out the night as the storm wreaked havoc outside they where cocooned safely inside with their love.