Return to Love

by combsone

Summary:

Kat and Thomas Season 3

Chapter 1: Chapter 1

Disclaimer – I do not own the original story, show, characters or sets. Hallmark and The Way Home have that honor.
Chapter 1
The first winter snow had fallen over Port Haven leaving the farm covered by a crisp white sheet, the night Jacob returned home to us through the pond. In the two weeks since his return we have had a record cold front and the sheet covering the Landry farm is now a thick blanket and my worries continue to grow with each snowfall. I knew if I didn’t go to him soon, I would have to wait until spring to see him again, until spring to put my mind at ease that I didn’t just dream what Jacob told me, when he said that Thomas had actually survived Cyrus’s bullet. If only I could have left earlier, but my mother made that practically impossible with her initial reaction to Jacob’s return.

In the last 2 weeks the task of re-introducing Jacob to 2025 did not go quite like we imagined it would. That brisk Canadian night when he walked through that squeaky farmhouse door should have been a glorious reunion between mother and son. Instead, our mother Del, couldn’t, wouldn’t, didn’t believe the man standing in front of her with the same piercing blue eyes as her son could actually be Jacob, her long-lost little boy. That night and the days that followed were full of arguments, insults and multiple DNA tests and not all of this was coming from my mother. My best friend Elliot, who is our so-called expert time travel guru lectured me on my poor choices handling the situation and went on and on about how I did everything wrong and might have broken the pond. On top of that he had just gotten the opportunity to time travel with my daughter Alice and now I am the most selfish person for ruining this opportunity for him. At this point I had to worry about putting my family back together and as much as I care about Elliot, his problems were going to have to wait a while. Since our mother refused to get a DNA test swearing Jacob is not our Jacob then my first step to pull my family back together was to get a sibling DNA test with Jacob.

I have felt so bad for Jacob over the last the 2 weeks he was expecting to return to the mother he remembered and instead he got the broken distrustful woman she has become in his absence. To add to that he has had to stay at Elliot’s house because mom won’t let him stay on the farm, so his days are filled with Elliot crying over what we have taken from him. I honestly am so grateful he didn’t jump in the pond and return to 1814 to get away from him. We finally had a break thru a week ago when the results of our sibling DNA came back as a match. Finally, our mother came to terms with the idea this could be real, he may be her little boy after all. She immediately went for the DNA test and invited Jacob to come back to the farm to stay. We all thought we were getting away from Elliot’s constant complaining about me, but he made daily visits to make sure I didn’t forget I ruined his life, but honestly over the last 2 weeks only 1 man has been on my mind and it isn’t Elliot I am desperate to get back to.
It only took 3 days to get their expediated DNA test results back and we all knew what they said so finally we were treated to our mother’s reaction, the one we thought we were getting the night he returned. She welcomed him with open arms and didn’t even acknowledge what had happened over the last 10 days. Based on the looks on Jacobs face I caught ever so often they will have some issues about that to work on in the near future, but not my concern because this has finally got me one step closer to my next trip through the pond.

 

If you’re wondering if we told mom about the pond, we didn’t because it would have added to her overwhelming disbelief that Jacob had actually came home. He told her a wonderful woman named Rachel had lost her little boy and she had taken him far way to raise with her husband Elijiah. He had a very happy family life full of love and didn’t remember us anymore until I found him. After the DNA tests came back, we went about the task of reintroducing him to Port Haven society and we had to call the authorities to report he had been found and start the process of declaring him undead, I guess, no one really knows the process as it is apparently not that common for someone declared dead to show back up. When law enforcement came to interview him, he had to lie even more than with mom and oh boy was Thomas right, my sweet brother could lie with the best of them, he should actually look into acting. Now after a few days things have seemed to settle down and I wrote a special edition of the Herald celebrating his miraculous return to try and stop other press outlets from bothering us so I can sneak away to the pond and pray it returns me to Thomas…… my Thomas.

As night fell on the farm, I went to say my goodbyes to Jacob and my daughter Alice, they were going to cover for me with my mother and Elliot for a few days, so I can get a little time with my 1814 friends and let them know how Jacob was doing. My way to the pond is right by Elliot’s house and the last thing I have time for on this cold November night is another run in with him. I love him, I really do, but since meeting Thomas, I know it isn’t the same love a woman should have for a man. I desperately want him to be happy, but I know I would never be happy with him, I just don’t see him that way. Don’t misunderstand me, I have in the past, when I was lonely and scared and because of all the changes in my life thought we could try to give it a go, attraction could come in time and in those low points of my life security was more important to me than passion. I am completely aware of how selfish that has been and at the time I didn’t realize why I was drawn to him, I just thought it would be nice and easy, and I could grow to desire him. Well, it ends up slipping by Elliots was easier than I thought, he either went to bed early or he was out because the Augustine house was as dark as the night surrounding it. I finally made it to the wooded trail, and I quickly slide through the maze of snow-covered trees by using the smallest sliver of moonlight that was peeping through the branches. Upon arriving at the pond, I can’t say I wasn’t a bit worried about the large portion of it that was already frozen over. As I looked across the pond and the floating chunks of white ice I hesitated for a moment, my thoughts turning to 1814, were they also having an early hard and artic winter. I would have to chance it and make it a quick trip, so I guess here goes nothing. I cannot wait to sprint to see him, my thoughts revolve around him. I need to touch him, to make sure it is real that he did survive as Jacob proclaimed the night he returned home. Until I feel his warm hands on me and his soft lips against my skin, I won’t let myself fully believe he did actually survived. Here goes nothing as I run towards the pond, knowing I am running full force towards my future in the past.
To be continued…….

Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Summary:

Kat is finally back in 1814
Kat and Thomas Season 3 - Characters are owned by Hallmark

rewrite of chapter 2
Two weeks have passed since I jumped into the icy pond water on January 16 in the year 2025 and my body sank into the ponds murky depths to emerge into the pond of 1815.
So many things have transpired over the last two weeks including the pond in 1815 completely freezing over delaying my trip back to my family. My intentions were to write this in a letter and place it in the Landry mantle as a message to my family that I was unable to return until a break in the weather here, but I have barely had a minute to write and haven’t found the opportunity to add to my journal even as there is so much to do to survive such a winter in this primitive time.

I do however want to take a moment to document the strange circumstances I encountered during this trip, because I have never experienced anything like it before. My best friend El is documenting everything about the pond, so I want to be sure he gets this information for his book of theories.
After I jumped into the pond it usually grabs us travelers with it’s long tentacle like weeds that drag you down into its depths but this time was different I was worried I wasn’t going to make it back up at all. The vines didn’t loosely wrap around my feet, instead they tightly wove themselves all the way up my legs and around my waist and pulled me under so quickly that I felt they were dragging me almost into hell. I know the pond is not as deep as I felt I descended that night. I was also hearing things, voices, but I could not make out what they were saying. It seemed like the tentacles of the pond were tightening even more and I felt panic set in and I started to try to tear away the vines to break free, I was terrified that I was not going to make it back to the surface again. All that was rushing through my mind while I was under the water was who was going to find my lifeless body, my daughter Alice or my mom, who gets one child back only to lose another. What if it was 1815 and Susanna or Thomas or Jacob’s name sake found me, every option would be devastating to whoever did. As I pondered those thoughts the pond answered my silent pleas and began to loosen its hold. As I fought my way to the surface the voices returned and this time I heard them loud and clear. A hauntingly female voice was repeating over and over again for me to go back, I did not belong there.
Finally, once I broke through the thin sheet of ice that covered the pond in whatever year I arrived in I sloshed through the artic water towards the shoreline. After only a few steps I realized how exhausted I was and only made to the large boulder that was partially submerged in the middle of pond. As hypothermia and my exhaustion were overtaking me the relief I felt as I climbed onto the very cold and uncomfortable rock was almost overwhelming and I allowed myself to fall asleep for a few minutes to work up the energy to make it the rest of the way out of the pond.
My uncomfortable slumber was short lived though as I had been awakened by voices coming from the surrounding woods. I instantly sank back into the chilly water to hide myself from whatever possible dangers were near by hidden within the tall trees. If I had arrived in 1814 then the voices could have belonged to some of Cyrus’s men and if I have been brought to a different point in time, what unknown dangers was I facing. At least I was mentally prepared for Cyrus and his delusions of the White Witch, as that thought was running amuck in my head, another more comforting thought fought its way through. The memory of Thomas protecting me from Cyrus’s men when they were on their witch hunt flooded my brain. Soon reality sat in though and I knew I had no Thomas there to protect me and I was sure that Cyrus was still searching for the White Witch, while I was processing this I was able to better hear the voices and I recognized that it was undeniably Cyrus. Fear should have overtaken me in that moment, but all I could process was I did make it back and now I had to survive to find my way to Thomas and my friends.

A moment later I decided to take a chance and get myself out of the pond and then I knew the next step would be to find a way through the woods to Susanna’s without Cyrus and his goons detecting me. I needed warm clothes and rest to most importantly I need to know where to find Thomas.

As I was planning my path to Port Haven in my mind I pushed slowly and silently through the pond, the water was freezing and I had to get on land and through the woods as fast as possible.
When I arrived to the shoreline I felt a strange presence, I couldn’t explain it at the time. I turned to look across the pond and I could swear for the briefest of moments I saw my father watching me from the other side. I went to go towards him when I heard a tree branch crack and as I looked down to see if my foot had been so careless to have made that noise I instantaneously felt an arm reach around my waist and I was lifted off my feet and flipped around so my back was against the nearest tree and before I could scream a large hand terrifyingly covered my mouth. I immediately reacted with my entire body to fight this person off of me when I heard the man attached to that hand that had taken residence over my mouth whisper in my ear “Hello, witch”. The relief that flooded through my body at that moment was indescribable and my entire being immediately melted into his.

Thank God it was Thomas. I truly have no idea how I would have survived that faithful night on my own.
He still had his hand over my mouth and I shook my head left to right to let him know I was ready for him to remove it but he only looked down at me with those piercing eyes of his and told me to shoosh, he obviously didn’t understand I was ready to be quiet if he removed his hand from my mouth, so I tried a difference tactic, I kissed the inside of his palm where it rested against my lips. That solicited a very different reaction, the penetrating look I got made me weak in the knees and the ever so slight moan that escaped his lips caused them to buckle under me. Fortunately, he was there to hold me steady with all of his body weight pressed against me. I know now he wanted to be 100% sure that Cyrus was gone and he was also pressing so close to me to try and warm my soaked body. it worked too because the entire time he had me pressed so closely between him and the tree I didn’t even think about being cold.
While we stood against the tree that night we both were taking each other in, it was like neither of us had breathed since we broke our kiss on the beach all of those weeks ago. I can’t speak to what Thomas was feeling at that moment or what was going through his mind, but shamefully I was drowning in his sparkling eyes and I tingled everywhere with his body so close to mine, the feel of him right there with me. I was actually dizzy from all of the emotions that flooded my entire being that night. I knew I had missed him, but being there up against that tree with him for the first time in weeks, being so close to every inch of him that the thought of ever being without him for another single day became unacceptable to me as we stood in that cold night waiting for safety.
A few minutes had passed and Thomas was still very tense, aware of the possible impending danger from Cyrus’s men. I really didn’t know when the danger was going to pass and I wanted Thomas to give me some sort of sign so I could know when I could relax, when he would relax. Within seconds of that thought I felt Thomas’s face move in so close to mine and as he got close to my ear my world tilted on its axis, he softly whispered something, I still couldn’t tell you what was he said because at the same time as I felt his breath against my neck I felt his lips gently kiss my earlobe the excitement almost overwhelmed me, the next words I caught however, he whispered to me that it was payback for my earlier kiss to the inside of his palm. If I wrecked him like he just did me then I suppose it was well deserved payback that he dished out that night. At the same time those thoughts were flooding me I felt his hand finally move from my mouth, but it didn’t matter as I had already been rendered speechless as shockwaves rocked my entire body from one little nibble to my earlobe. I finally composed myself enough that night to ask if we were safe and I didn’t even make it to the third word before his hand was gently cupping my check and he actually, softly asked permission with the most seductive “May I” that has ever been uttered in any century as his lips moved towards mine with my slight nod of approval.

To be continued…..

Chapter 3: Chapter 3

Summary:

First night Kat and Thomas Season 3 - Characters are owned by Hallmark

As Thomas leaned in closer I am not sure which emotion I was flooded with more, anticipation or nervousness.
As he cupped my cheek with his left hand he used his other hand to tilt my head back giving him full access to my lips. As I looked up into his eyes and he stared back down at me at the same time my heart was filled with a feeling I don’t think any man has filled me with, for the first time in my life I knew I was cherished. He cherishes me, I see it in every look and feel it in every touch. As this revelation was playing itself out in my head I was overwhelmed with emotion and a single tear slowly escaped my eye and slid down my cheek. That tear represented everything I had been denied in the past and it was quickly met by Thomas’s lips to kiss it away along with all the disappointment and pain it represented. Then as suddenly as his lips were on my cheek, they just as quickly found their way over to meet my lips. Thomas’s lips began to gently sweep across mine. Once, twice and on the third sweep he was able to gently part my lips and deepen the kiss. As our kiss deepened it was different than our last kiss, this kiss wasn’t out of desperation, it wasn’t to cling to something we were being denied. This kiss with its gentleness and the promise of more, was promising us a lifetime. He then shifted his weight to get better access to my neck. His lips then slowly pulled away from mine and found their way to the nape of my neck, where he began to explore what was already his. He peppered my exposed neck with his soft, wet kisses and lit a fire at that moment in both of us that may burn until the end of our days. As he continued his erotic assault on my neck, I let out a soft moan, I mean how could I not, I was in heaven or as close it as I was going to get on earth. That moan somehow broke the spell we were under, and the perfect moment was shattered as soon as that moan escaped my lips. Immediately Thomas broke away from my neck and stepped back to survey our surroundings and he shushed me again. He abruptly broke out of our embrace and decided it was time to go. I can’t pretend I wasn't a bit disappointed and feared I did something to cause this abrupt change in course. Then like he was reading my mind he quickly apologized to me for keeping me in the cold a minute longer than necessary and said this can all be revisited as soon as I get you warm. He quickly removed his duster and wrapped me in it. Thomas already seemed very alert of his surroundings, and he shocked me to my core when he asked me if anyone had traveled with me. I was a bit taken back and I told him no and inquired why he asked. He told me he felt someone was around but it didn’t feel like they were watching to cause harm, it just felt like someone was watching us and he couldn’t really explain it. As we made our way out of the woods Thomas turned us towards the Landry farm instead of to town and Susanna. As we were quickly walking down the dirt road I could see the farmhouse was lit up and fortunately Elijah must have been awake still. When we approached the door Elijah was already opening it as he must have saw us walking towards the house. He immediately rushed me to the fire as soon as he saw the condition I was in. He told Thomas he would run and get me some of his Rebecca's clothes and some blankets and told Thomas to put the tea kettle on and grab some of his rum from the cupboard to add to my tea. As everyone left me to warm up by the fire my mind wandered to Thomas and the impossible situation I found myself in, how could I ever leave him. I know I will have to return home at least until Alice is in college but how to make this work because I never thought I would find happiness here in the eighteen hundreds when I went looking for Jacob. Elijah then broke through my thoughts when he brought out the warm dry clothes and ushered Thomas out of the room with him so I wouldn't need to leave the fire to get changed. After I was changed and placed my chair by the fire, I called for them to return just as the tea kettle whistled. Thomas immediately came to me to wrap me in every blanket in the house, as he placed the blankets around me, he continuously kept rubbing up and down my arms in an attempt to create extra warmth. While Thomas tended to me, Elijah tended to the tea. Once he had a mug of the glorious hot liquid poured, he brought it Thomas to add the amount of rum he saw fit, I obviously need to remind him I can handle a bit more than a splash, fortunately once he looked at me again and saw I was still shivering, he decided to generously free pour the rum into my mug. After my first sip I knew it wouldn't take long for the drink to knock me out. Once I was settled with my drink by the fire Elijah came over asking me if I was warming up and if Jacob was ok and adjusting well. I told him that Jacob was well and I will tell him all about it when I teeth stopped chattering, with a chuckle from Elijah in agreement and a wicked smirk from Thomas I knew they were feeling a little better about my current state. Jacob told Thomas to come help him move Jacob"s old bed in from the other room to place near the fireplace. While they were gone, I let my mind drift back to my ordeal at the pond and with all the excitement of the evening I had forgotten a tiny, well not so tiny detail, I swear I saw my dad by the pond. I had to have been hallucinating from the hypothermia but it seemed so real. Then my thoughts drifted to Thomas feeling someone was watching us, could it have been my dad. Why had I never contemplated that he was a traveler too. As I reflected on this shocking discovery Elijah and Thomas shuffled in with the bed from the other room for me. I have no idea to what degree my face was betraying my current thoughts, but the look of concern that washed over Thomas's face said it all, he knew I was not in the best place physically and now even emotionally. As they arranged the bed by the fire and helped me to place the blankets I had wrapped around me onto the bed, the rum kicked in and I could barely stand. I felt Thomas's strong arms wrap around me and lift me onto the bed and I vaguely recall Elijah wishing us a good night as I was being lowered into the soft mattress. The last thing I recall before giving into my exhaustion was Thomas getting into bed next to me and pulling me close to him. To be continued......

Chapter 4: Friends and Aunts

Summary:

This is a Susanna chapter and it sets up a few subplot lines.
The characters, plot and canon are owned by The Way Home and Hallmark

Chapter 4
I started to awaken as I felt the warm sun slowly creeping across my face. As my eyelids fluttered open, I had not yet registered that the warm bed I was in was not in my house in 2025. In that same moment I did feel a pair of arms that were not my own wrapped around my body holding me close to a very warm and firm muscular one. This brought the immediate feeling of safety and something else, warmth would be an understatement. A blazing fire was building inside me and it spread from head to toe. As I regained my mental clarity and refocused on my surroundings, I knew I was there in 1815 and these could only be Thomas’s arms that had me tucked safely inside their warmth. I closed my eyes for a moment to better determine if Thomas’s breathing would give me a clue if he was still asleep or just lying awake and wishing not to disturb me with his moving around or even getting out of bed. As I listened, he had realized I too was awake and as I rubbed my hands up and down his arms testing my theory, he was already whispering in my ear to ask how I was feeling, and quickly followed that up before I could form an answer, inquiring then if I was warm enough. As I turned my head around as much as I could in our current position to wish him a good morning, I instead got treated with the most gorgeous smile I have ever awakened too. I decided at that moment that there could never be enough mornings to see that smile and feel the way I felt in that moment lying there with him.
After a few minutes of Thomas staring down into my eyes and quizzing me with various questions on how I felt he began to fidget. I was very content as we laid there in each other’s arms, but Thomas was a man of action and he announced that he needed to go help Elijah in the woods as he got up out of the bed. He explained as he dressed that they had been setting game traps to collect enough food to feed not only the family but Susanna and now me as well. He proceeded to let me know that they had sent word to Susanna that I was here and possibly in need of her remedies. He pointed me to the coffee and told me to stay warm and near the fire until Susanna arrived to assess my condition.
As Thomas threw on his boots and coat, he walked over and dropped a quick kiss on my forehead and followed that up with his hand to check if I was feverish. I quickly shooed him away as I didn’t much care for a pity kiss from him, I was looking for something else. He gave me that infamous smirk of his and laughed as he walked out the door and with that he turned and said I promise you a much different kiss later, My Katherine, then immediately closed the door behind him.
As irritated as that exchange made me, I was still excited for Susanna to arrive, and I had several things I wanted to discuss with her. I also realized I needed to use the restroom and that was sadly outside, so I bundled up and used a coat that was hanging by the door that appeared to possibly be Jacob’s coat. As I opened the door to venture out Susanna was about to walk in all bundled up herself. We immediately hugged and cried with joy in being together again. I explained to her I was using the facilities and she told me to hurry, and she had some healing tea with her full of herbs to help fortify me from falling ill with the fever.
She stated she would put the kettle on and it will be ready by the time I get back. As I scurried across the yard to the outhouse I decided then and there that I had to find a way to get Thomas home with me to 2025 and introduce him to warm indoor plumbing. As I walked back to the house, I thought about my friend inside and about my brother and what Jacob had told me in his first weeks he was back home with me. He had confessed to me that he indeed had strong feelings for Susanna and his wish to marry her was not for convenience or just to help her, he was in fact in love with her. He knew her feelings for him were not the same, but he was ok with that, love can grow in time, and he was helping to protect the woman he loved from Cyrus. He had explained after I left, she had broken off the engagement and refused to marry him because she was with child, and it was Cyrus’s child not his. I didn’t ask for him to elaborate on his past physical relationship with Susanna, but I have to admit I was slightly curious, I still had the Casey mystery to be solved and they seemed to be very much a Landry and very much a Goodwin or at least they told me they are a Goodwin. If this could be Susanna and Jacob’s child that would mean Elliot’s theory of no future travel via the pond would be certainly inaccurate. As I walked in the door Susanna had removed her coat and was standing with her back to me stoking the fire in the hearth. As she turned around, I was taken back by how pregnant she was. She had to have been pregnant, very pregnant on my last visit, as now she appears to be at least 7 months pregnant.

As she turned around…. She simply said surprise! Come and say hi to your niece or nephew.

I was stunned and she simply held out her hand and placed my hand on her belly and I felt the kick of baby and started to cry. I never thought I would be an Aunt and now here I am in 1815 with my hand on the little foot of Jacob's son or daughter.

To be continued…..

Chapter 5: Dinner at the Landry House

Chapter 5- Return to Love
After a moment of feeling the sweetest little fluttering kicks, I looked up at Susanna’s face and it was filled with so much love and giddiness. She then said” I know I owe you the whole story”. She then started in and started off telling me that Jacob doesn’t know, and you can’t tell him. I looked at her like she was asking me to walk on the moon in 1815, I simply cannot not tell him must have been written all over my face, because she immediately after one look at me started in on her reasoning, which was she wants Jacob to be in a place in time where he belongs and that isn’t in 1815 and we both knew he would return to support Susanna if was to made aware of the current situation. I can’t argue with her logic, but I also can’t imagine keeping a secret like this. As she continued her story things became a little clearer as more details emerged. The basic story is Susanna wanted a child and she thinks so highly of my little brother that she couldn’t imagine having a baby with anyone else, so she basically seduced him before he went on his trip to deliver the ship to the Navy. She had her valid reasons, and they were that she wanted to be sure she was with child if anything happened to Jacob, because who knew what could happen as smuggling is a dangerous business. She couldn’t take the chance that she would be left to fend off Cyrus again and on her own. No matter if she was pregnant or not, she would then be a ruined woman and Cyrus would no longer pressure her into a marriage. As Susanna was telling her story my mind wandered and I came to a realization, Elliot was a Landry. Oh my, Elliot will be over the moon to know he is a Landry, he has always wanted this and well, so had Vic (but maybe we won’t mention it to him). He is descended from Jacob, what wonderful news, now I don’t have to find a way to let him down easy; he is a direct descendant of my brother.

My thoughts were then interrupted by the creaking sound of the front door opening. As the heavy door flung open, I looked up to see Thomas in the doorway. My breath caught at the sight of him, and I wondered to myself will this feeling ever settle down, this feeling of my heart in my throat anytime he is near. It is unsettling and then as I thought those words, a slow smile spread across his lips as his eyes found me in the room and I immediately knew I was a lost cause, he had me, all of me and I was just along for the ride and as these thoughts went through my mind a feeling of ease I have never had before come over me, I was ok with it, I was ok with this man having power over me, because I trust him, I really trust him to always put me first, I have never felt that secure in my life since my dad died. As we quickly glanced at each other across the room I saw Thomas then shift his glance to Susana and back to me and slightly lifted his eyebrow and said, “are we alright in here ladies?” a quick nod from me and I could see the look of concern he was trying to hide melt away from that devilishly attractive face of his. Thomas then slowly moved over to where I was by the fireplace and put his hand to my forehead and he then looked down into my face with those piercing Hazel eyes and asked me if I was feeling well. This question rubbed Susanna the wrong way and I heard a loud humph coming from her direction but from me I looked up to meet his gaze and my entire body felt like it was on fire but for now I decided on a brief yes nod for the answer to his inquiry. The rest would have to wait until later when we were alone, and I had him all to myself. He then lowered his head, and I felt his lips graze across the crown of my head, and he whispered that he would be in the barn dressing the deer they shot today if I needed him.

After Thomas retreated from the house, Susanna and I decided to get started on making dinner. As we worked on preparing the meal we casually chatted about the baby and her pregnancy symptoms. She wanted to know all about babies and if anything about having babies was different in my time. As I worked on preparing the roasted chicken, my mom’s recipe we talked about some helpful tips about what not to eat while pregnant and nursing and what is really helpful for baby's brain development. Susanna took it all in and asked follow up questions while she prepared the canned peas and carrots from the fall harvest and some potatoes, she had brought with her from the store to round out our evening meal. While to food was cooking, she got out her sewing basket and was working on making baby diapers, I jumped right in to help, it was surreal, for over 20 years I believed I would never get the opportunity to make something for Jacob’s child, my little niece or nephew. I can’t explain the feeling of finally getting back what the pond tore away from me all those years ago.
After about an hour of this we heard voices outside the house and knew that Thomas and Elijah were headed in for dinner. As much as I enjoy spending time with Susanna, I was longing to see Thomas’s face and to feel him near me, so the sound of their voices was one of the most welcome sounds to my ears in ages.

As we sat down to supper, Elijah sat next to me and Thomas across from me and Susanna was at the end of the table across from Elijah. After saying grace, Elijah grabbed my hand and said he hated to bother me but since learning I was a Landry and of his family line, he has been so overwhelmed with emotion knowing his family not only survived but thrived on this land for over 200 years. When I looked into Elijah’s face and saw the tears of pride welled up in his eyes, I knew I could not keep my promise to Elliot and not give this beautiful man some details of the future Landry’s’ that have lived on this land. As we eat our dinner, I shared story after story about the family and stories about how the farm evolved and about family members and the family stories, I could remember my grandad telling me. I told him about Founders Day and how we are considered a founding family, and we are a huge part of the town's history. As we spoke about it I knew looking into his tear-stained face that no matter the amount of berating I get from Elliot over sharing any of this will have been worth it. Elijah was worth it.

After dinner was cleared Susanna brought coffee over for everyone and a slice of pound cake she had made while I was sewing diapers this afternoon. When we started into our dessert, Elijah turned to me and asked me if I wanted to know what he believed to be the story of the pond.

Chapter 6: Chapter 6 - The History of the Pond

Summary:

How did the Pond"s magic come to the Landry family and how did the pond get it"s magic.
The cannon storyline, characters and plot are all owned by Hallmark.

Chapter 6- The History of the Pond

We all stared at Elijah in disbelief, this is not what any of us expected to hear coming from his mouth on this bitterly cold night. Yet here we were and any one of us would be lying if they said they weren’t wildly eager to hear what the Landry Patriarch had to say on the matter. As Elijah started the story I felt Thomas’s right arm come around my shoulders and he pulled me closer to him while engulfing me in the warmth of his body.

While Thomas was securing me we heard a small cough come from Elijah indicating he was going to start the story. Elijah started by telling us that he tried to travel himself several times since Jacob left. Jacob had explained to Elijah that only Landry’s could travel and Elijah is the Landry bloodline we are all decedents of, so he assumed he would be able to travel but each time he tried he wasn’t able to and he came right back up to the surface in the same year he was trying to leave. It was after the 4th time when he started to think back to when the travels started and why and why Landrys. It didn’t take him long to piece together the when and the why behind the ponds magical powers.

Elijah then got up and got himself another piece of cake and started to explain. This was not a blessing placed on a Landry by blood but a Landry by marriage. This was a gift given to Rebecca and all of her offspring.
When I told Elijah I didn’t understand, he simply replied “ no, you wouldn’t, it was, he believed tied to a story they had to keep quiet because it involved the Mi'kmaq Indians”. Elijah went on to explain when they first arrived in New Brunswick the Mi'kmaq Indians made their home in the area. Relations were strained between the natives and the new settlers, but Rebecca being Rebecca had always went our of her way to be friendly and helpful whenever she had the opportunity.

This led to the opportunity to help that Elijah believed started this all in motion. Late one night Rebecca was at the pond staring into the waters as she was drawn to the pond to an almost supernatural degree. She said the pond called to her and I was a newly wed and entertained every fancy my love had, so I let her go to the pond at night as we had never had any trouble there even though it was known to belong to the Mi'kmaq tribe. While Rebecca was at the pond, she heard a scream in the dark and a huge splash. That was quickly followed by the sound of something or someone thrashing about in the water and screaming in a language foreign to Rebecca. Rebecca ran into the water and found a young Mi'kmaq girl who was struggling to stay afloat in water that if she stood up would only have reached her shoulders. Rebecca quickly fished her out of the freezing water but the even colder air led the girl to catch a terrible cold. Rebecca hurried home with her and threw the door open standing in the doorway carrying a little girl and both were dripping wet. I immediately sprang into action getting them blankets and stoking the dwindling fire to get the blaze roaring again so it could warm them both. We settled all down to bed after a while and we tucked the slight of a girl between us that night to keep her warm.

The next morning at daybreak it was obvious our little patient was very ill with a high fever and coughing. While I wanted to make a trip to the Mi'kmaq camp to let them know, we really didn’t know how dangerous that may have been, so we opted to nurse her back to health and she could tell them when she was able to the story of the care and compassion, she got from us during her illness.

Word spread quickly of what Rebecca was up to and a young Cyrus with his older brothers were coming by daily to pressure us to turn the sick girl out back into the cold air. They were worried that when the men of the tribe returned from their hunting trip, they would be furious we had one of their people and possibly attack our new settlement. The warriors did not care for our ways, and they would be suspicious of our intentions for keeping the girl. My Rebecca stood her ground though and was determined to nurse the young girl back to health.
A week passed and still we had daily visits from the Goodwin brothers and still Rebecca shooed them away and kept nursing her young charge. Rebecca realized she needed some more herbs to help her patient and headed to the pond. As she was collecting some of the herbs to help heal the girl she looked up and let out a startled cry and she saw who appeared to be the tribes medicine man and another older woman.

The Medicine man could speak English and quickly started towards Rebecca yelling at her as he sprinted wanting to know where the girl was and asking why she had her. Rebacca was very frightened and began to cry and started to explain the whole story to the medicine man. It only took a few moments for them to stop yelling and start listening to my sweet Rebecca. As Rebecca showed them the plants she was using to cure and how she was improving they softened to her. The medicine man was translating everything Rebecca said to the old squaw he had with him and she looked visibly relieved as the story went on. Once Rebecca finished her story they asked to come see the girl and Rebecca obliged them immediately.

I was in the living room when Rebecca came through our front door with 2 Indians in tow. The shock and concern flooded my body immediately and I went to reach for my rifle, Rebecca saw this and calmly told me to sit my rifle down and her words were so soothing that, well I did, I trusted my wife. As this was happening the old squaw had already seen the girl and was rushing over to her and the affection, she had for her was obvious. The reunion between the two was a joy to watch and I really was able to see how the Indians felt about their own and it was no different than us and for the first time I could see more similarities than differences between our two people.

The medicine man saw me contemplating this new revelation and he went on to explain to me this was her grandmother, and she was all the old woman had left of her family. He also explained the squaw was strong with the spirits but no longer strong of body so when she saw that the girl was taken here, she could not do anything until the warriors returned from hunting. Fortunately, the Medicine man said he came back ahead of the hunting party and ran into the squaw and was able to come and this could be handled with rational conversation so we can avoid bloodshed. He explained the girl’s name was Raging River and thanks to Rebecca she was well enough that they were able to move her back to the camp before the warriors returned and none would be the wiser.
Elijah then explained that he had never been more relieved in all of his days for the girl to be gone, she was very sweet but the fear of the warriors returning and coming after her literally aged him those two weeks while Raging River was under their roof.

As Susanna poured us all more coffee, Thomas got up and added some more wood to the fireplace and then returned to draw me close to him again and the feel of his body against mine was so comforting and the desire to curl back up in bed with him was almost enough to ask Elijah to finish his story tomorrow, but I thought better of it and looked up at him with the best look of anticipation I could muster. I did want to figure the pond out but bed and bed with Thomas was calling me.
Elijah took my look as his sign to continue the story and he went on. He told us that after the late-night visit from our new Indian friends that Raging River and her grandmother came to visit frequently. They were bringing Rebecca gifts. When Rebecca was pregnant with our first boy, they made her so many gifts of the finest animal skins for the baby, they were very kind people and we valued their friendship immensely. Even the Medicine Man came with the two of them to help Rebecca give birth and he provided her with herbs and an ointment to help Rebecca heal after giving birth. They also blessed our son with a Indian name to go along with his Christian name, it was Howl to the Moon because he was a very loud baby. Things continued with regular visits and our son grew to love the Squaw and Raging River like family. It wasn’t until 2 years later when the hunting party was out again and the squaws left alone when things forcibly changed, tragedy struck.

The French Army was in the area and decide to use the Mi'kmaq camp for anything they wanted, food, supplies and other less honorable activities. They expected the squaws to cook and do their laundry while others resorted to those more nefarious activities and Raging River and her grandmother escaped to the pond and that is where Rebecca found them. They kept jumping in and then coming back out repeatedly and Rebecca said it was the darndest thing she had ever witnessed. Rebecca rushed them both back to our place and we cared for them until the hunting party returned, which coincided with the French Army moving on just days before. After all of those things happened Rebecca was basically considered part of the tribe now and they cared for us and especially Rebecca with the utmost care and love over the next 2 years when tragedy struck our little family.

Rebecca and I were trying since right after the French Army incident to grow our family and for some reason it just wasn’t happening and our frustration was growing and then the worst thing that possibly could happen did, we lost our boy, he died of the Pox.
The Squaw and the rest of the Mi'kmaq elders came to comfort us, and they told Rebecca she was one with the pond and she needed to ask the pond for help, the pond will give you what you need. They told her that they were gifting her and her descents the pond and all it had to offer as long as they stayed on the land of their ancestors. Now at the time we didn’t know what that meant. It wasn’t until she found Jacob a short time later at the pond did Rebecca understand what they meant or at least she started to. She later told me they said if we ever sold the land the magic would end and that is why she was struggling with wanting to leave when she found Jacob. She wasn’t sure what all magic the pond contained but she wanted her descendants to have it, she felt like it meant she would indeed have children to pass down to. She told me they said it was a portal and would take her descendants to where they needed to go, other places in time and at the time we laughed and decided the translating of the words was just a mess and a big misunderstanding.

This leads us to the descendants of Rebecca being able to travel, it just happens to be they are also my descendants. Rushing River is alive and about a days ride from here now. I think the next thing we should do is find out everything we can about the pond. I sent her a letter when Jacob returned to his time and she just sent me a letter saying she is coming for a visit to explain everything on how to use the pond to travel into the past and occasionally the future to Rebecca’s descendent and she will arrive the day after tomorrow.
To be continued…….

Chapter 7: A case of mistaken identity

Summary:

Katherine comes face to face with an unbelievable site.
All cannon storyline, characters and scenes are owned by Hallmark

Chapter 7
As Elijah finished his story and the news of our upcoming visitor sunk in, Susanna spoke up and said she was heading home and asked Thomas to walk her back since it was dark out. She then turned to me and sternly gave me instructions on what herbs to take if I felt a cough or any other symptoms. She was bundling up by the door when she turned to directly look at Thomas and told him to make sure I follow her orders and most importantly I was to rest and not overexert myself in any way. I got what she was hinting at, and I felt the heat rise in my cheeks as I had a brief flashback of Thomas holding me so passionately on the beach not so long ago. As Susanna looked me in the eyes, I felt like a child being warned by her mother to be on their best behavior so to lighten the mood, I went to her and as I hugged her I whispered, “I promise to be good". This seemed to satisfy her, and she opened the door to usher out into the snow. Thomas was right behind her, but when he turned to look back me he started to open his mouth but then he just cocked his head to the side and simply looked at me or should I say through me. he was right no words were needed the look I received made me feel absolutely cherished.

As Thomas closed the door, Elijah walked over and checked on the fire and added a few logs and then told me he was turning in for the night and to just call out if I needed anything at all.
As I settled down into my makeshift sick bed I was determined to stay awake until Thomas’s return so I decided in an attempt keep my eyes open that I could make more diapers for my future niece or nephew. As I started into my sewing my mind started to mull over all the information Elijah provided tonight through his story. I was desperately clinging to the hope that Raging River could provide me with a way to get Thomas back to 2025 with me. Me traveling back and forth was not sustainable and I was not giving him up but I also could not leave Alice, so I was simply going to explain this to Raging River and hope she has a solution. I also thought about all the information about how the pond really works and what the true rules of the pond are and how they match up with Elliot’s theories. He would be so excited for the mysteries of the pond to finally be revealed. As I was thinking about Elliot sleep began to overtake me and I decided to close my eyes for just a minute.

I felt my eyes flutter open as I saw light streaming into the window and I realized I had fallen asleep and slept through…….oh no, Thomas, woah, wait where is Thomas, I didn’t feel his hard body nestled to mine. I shot up out of bed and looked next to me then I quickly surveyed the room around me and Thomas was nowhere to be found. Right as panic started to kick in, I felt the bed next to me and found the familiar indent in the mattress alongside mine. I was flooded with relief he had come back, and I had just simply slept through it all. I leaned back and felt my blood pressure and anxiety level start to slowing decrease knowing he is safe, and he must be somewhere nearby. I was still a bit anxious, so I decided to get out of bed to look for him. I searched around the house and found a note that he was at Matthews place with Elijah helping tarp the faulty roof. I then decided to make myself useful as I could see the snow was blowing ferociously outside. I went into the kitchen and gathered the supplies to make a large pot of hot coffee over the fire to take to them. As I finished my task, I bundled up and prepared to go outside when I saw what appeared to be Elijah walking towards the house. I quickly went over and got a cup and poured a mug of coffee to help warm him up. As the wind blew in as I opened the door to meet him with it the strangest thing happened, I got a whiff of a scent that was familiar, so familiar I was lost in it, I craved it. I looked up and came face to face with the man in the doorway before everything went black.

 

I woke up in my bed by the fire and thought what an unbelievable and strange dream that I just had. Wow it felt so real, and it had completely drained me emotionally. In a way I wanted to just go back to the dream, to lose myself in it and the comfort of it. As I stirred and turned to see where Thomas was, I was greeted with the sight of the coffee pot on the floor and spilled coffee everywhere and Elijah bent over cleaning it up. I then realized it wasn’t a dream that I had just mistaken Elijah when he turned around and said, “Kat, how are you in 1815?” my entire world stopped, it was my daddy, he was right here in front of me. Alive, breathing and giving a look between scolding and absolute concern. Everything was in a haze, I must have been in shock or still dreaming, that is it I was still dreaming, my fever must have returned. As I was trying to recall what Susanna told me to take for the fever if it returned this man walked to me and bent down next to me. As he grabbed my hands, and I touched him I knew it wasn’t a dream my daddy was here and in front of me. He then started to ask me if I had found Jacob and asked me how Delly was and if she was ok. He asked what year I had come from and if Alice was my daughter or my granddaughter. I was speechless as he prattled on asking more and more questions until he said “Kat, Katherine, focus, talk to me”. As I heard him say this I started to come back, the haze started to lift and I turned to him and simply said “How, How Daddy, how are you here?”. As I uttered those words, I heard the door open behind me and Thomas’s voice “Colton, my friend, welcome I see you have met my Katherine. Katherine, this is my good friend Colton.”

Chapter 8: Misunderstandings and Heartbreak

Summary:

Cannon owned by Hallmarlk

As soon as the words reached my ears, I at once realized that I had an explosion on my hands. Behind me Thomas had taken in the scene of his friend on his knees in front of me holding my hands with tears streaming down both of our faces. Then in front of me was my daddy who within seconds after Thomas called me his Katherine, I could feel his body tense up as his hands were in mine. I then saw my dad’s face turn a dark red as I am sure he was imagining all sorts of things between his daughter and his friend that I am sure he would rather not think about. I then hear my dad saying, “What do you mean My Katherine – she is my Katherine.” I sat there in shock, so admittedly my reaction times were slower than normal. As I saw my dad stand up and then felt him pull me behind his body, I also saw Thomas lunge across the room determined to remove me from this perceived threat. Both men made moves to protect me from the other. What I did then came from instinct, I stepped around and in front of my dad to block Thomas. In my mind I was trying to prevent bloodshed between the two most important men in my life, but when I looked up and saw the look on Thomas’s face when I made my move I was made speechless by the agony that showed across it. I at once realized I crushed him, it took me another moment to realize Thomas thought I was choosing another man over him and, in a way, I was, just not in the way he thought. As I realized this Thomas had turned and was walking out the door, I cried for him to stop and as the door shut the words “he’s my dad” fell from my lips.
As soon as the door shut, I broke free of my dad and went running to the door and to my Thomas, when I heard “Katherine Landry you stop right there and get back here and tell me what is going on.” As I tuned to tell him later that I must go fix this I saw the look on his face and it was a look I remember well, it was the look for every bad grade or every mischievous thing I got myself into when I was young and knew I had to explain some things to be able to get out the door and to the business of fixing this with Thomas. I know once I tell him and he understands that all will be well and he will like always, understand and support me, it is just getting to him to do that as fast as possible. I don’t like the idea of Thomas being in pain and especially me being the cause of it.
So, I sat down and went ahead and told Dad about mom and how she is and Alice, explaining his suspicions were correct, she is my daughter and his granddaughter. As I explained this I could see the tears well up in his eyes. I then went over everything that happened with Jacob and how Thomas was instrumental in saving Jacob and also protecting him all of these years. I continued on to add how much I loved Thomas and couldn’t lose him. After I finished pouring my heart out to him about Thomas, his reply was “what about Elliot kiddo?” So after taking a deep breath I replied” I tried Dad, I really did, for you and for mom, but after feeling what I feel for Thomas I don’t want to settle no matter how easy it would be and how nice Elliot is, he just is not the other half of my soul, we are not twin flames.”To that my dad looked at me so lovingly and then sighed as he said “we better go find him then and explain all of this.”. I am sure the puzzled look on my face clued him in because he then grunted and quickly corrected his statement and said”ok then, you better go find him and explain everything.”. We both then laughed, and I hugged my daddy for the first time in 25 years-and as he broke from the embrace tears were once again flowing freely. I replied” Thank you Daddy and when we get back, I need you to tell me how this is even possible, you died in my arms.” He quickly replied as he helped me into my coat “you thought I did Kat, I will explain everything I can as soon as you return.” Then as I turned to go out into the storm he called out “please be careful in this storm Katherine “ and it hit me all over again, I had my daddy back I walked into the storm and quickly decided that he was most likely hiding out in the lighthouse basement, so I headed that way. I was determined to get this misconception cleared up tonight and heal my Thomas’s heart that I never intended to break because it was breaking mine just thinking about it.