Elizabeth woke up to the sun brightly shining on her face. She felt a bit confused as she ran her hand over what would have been Jack's side of the bed if he hadn't died last year. The sheets felt warm to her and she couldn't figure out why. She glanced over at the clock on the table next to the bed and noticed it was long past when baby Jack would have woken her to eat. She jumped out of bed and slipped on her robe as she walked across the hall to the nursery. She opened the door to walk in and the breath caught in her chest. All the baby furniture was gone; the room looked like it did before she had the baby. She tried to scream hoping maybe Lee or Rosemary would hear her but nothing came out of her throat. She frantically started pulling apart the bed, looking for her sweet, handsome little boy.
"Jack! " She yelled, her voice finally returning. "Little Jack, where are you? Cry for Mama! Jack? Where are you?" She ran out of the nursery and made her way downstairs, calling out for her beautiful baby boy. When she was half way down the stairs, she heard a familiar voice calling her, one that she hadn't heard in well over a year.
Jack heard Elizabeth frantically calling his name and ran to the stairs where he spotted her rushing down the steps. She had a look of absolute panic on her face and it scared him to the core. "Elizabeth, what's wrong, Sweetheart?"
Elizabeth stopped short when she spotted her dead husband standing part way up the staircase. Something very strange was going on. She felt lightheaded and sick to her stomach. "Jack?" She managed to utter before the room went black.
Jack saw her eyes roll back into her head and knew she was going to faint. He was barely able to catch her, saving her from tumbling down the stairs and hitting her head. He carried her upstairs and settled her back in bed. He ran to the bathroom and got her a glass of water before sitting down on the bed next to her. He took one hand in his and used the other to gently tap her on her face, hoping to wake her up.
"Come on, Sweetheart! Wake up for me." He was starting to panic; he had never seen or heard her act so upset before. He didn't understand why she was calling for Little Jack and asking him to let Mama know he was ok. "Elizabeth? Please wake up!" All he could think was she must have had a bad dream. He stood to go get a wet face cloth for her face when he heard her moan. He sat back on the bed.
Elizabeth slowly woke up, her head spinning as she tried to remember what was going on. She opened her eyes and saw Jack staring at her, his face full of concern. She moaned again. "Jack? You're alive?"
Jack became confused again. "What do you mean, I'm alive? Of course I'm alive. Did you have a bad dream that I had died?"
Elizabeth began to calm herself down, as she realized he was correct. She was still a bit dizzy and sick to her stomach. "Oh yes, Jack. It was horrible." She wanted to continue talking put the urge to vomit was overtaking her thoughts. She pushed passed Jack and ran for the bathroom, with him at her heels. She dropped to the floor in front of the toilet and began to get sick. He rushed to her and pulled her hair away from her face as he rubbed her back.
Elizabeth sank back against Jack's chest when she was finished and rested. Jack held her close, continuing to rub her back until she was feeling better. After a few minutes, she looked up at him and gave him a faint smile. "I'm sorry about that. You didn't need to be in here when I was sick but I am grateful you were."
"I will always be here for you, Sweetheart. In sickness and in health. I keep my vows." He kissed her forehead, feeling relieved that she didn't appear to have a fever. "Are you up to going back into the bedroom?"
"Yes." Jack stood up and carefully helped her to her feet. Once she was standing, he put his arm around her firmly and walked her back to bed. He tucked her in and then sat down so they could talk.
"Do you want to tell me what you dreamed about?"
"Yes, I do. The dream felt so real. Abigail and I were at Carson's birthday party and I remembered that I left his present at school. Abigail decided to come with me so we headed out of the saloon and started walking down the street." A tear fell down her cheek as she recalled her dream to Jack.
Jack reached over and swept the tear away while feeling a shiver go down his spine. The beginning of her dream was actually real but he had this feeling her dream was different than what actually happened. "Take your time Sweetheart."
She nodded her head and took a deep breath. "A Mountie was riding into town and I thought he was you. I had been having this dream of your return and you returned home at night. I quickly realized the Mountie was not you." She let out a shaky breath, trying not to let the tears that were welling in her eyes fall. "He told me you were dead."
Jack had a feeling of De JA Vu come over him. "Elizabeth, I did return to you the night of Carson's birthday. With me was Constable Andrews, who is at the end of his first year as a Mountie. I ran into him not too far from Hope Valley. He had news for Abigail."
Now everything was becoming clear to Elizabeth. She remembered the Mountie had been sent to Hope Valley to escort Abigail back to her childhood home, where her mother had taken ill. Abigail's Uncle James, her mother's brother, insisted that his niece should not travel alone so he requested a Mountie escort for Abigail. Abigail did not want to pull Cody out of school, so she left him with Lee and Rosemary, even though Jack and Elizabeth offered to have him stay with them. "Jack just got back from his assignment after leaving you so quickly after the wedding. You two deserve some alone time together as newlyweds." So it was decided that Cody would stay with the Coulters. Abigail left the next morning.
"Oh my God!" Elizabeth's eyes went wide as another memory brought her back to the present.
Jack knew the minute Elizabeth remembered what happened. He took her in his arms and held her close. "It's ok. Let it out." He whispered in her ear as he felt her tears dampen his shirt. He rubbed her back as he felt a tear slid down his cheek.
"It's Abigail? She really died?" She pulled away from Jack so she could look in his eyes.
"Yes, I'm afraid. The stagecoach wasn't in the best condition and when they were on a hill, one of the wheels fell off, sending the coach flying down the hill. Everyone on it was killed."
"Even Constable Andrews?" Jack nodded his head, unable to speak, tears shining in his eyes. "Oh Jack!" She snuggled back into his embrace and cried again. The two just held each other for a long time, crying together until they thought they had no tears left. After some time had passed and Elizabeth began realizing the depth of Abigail's loss in her life, she started to feel extremely nauseous. "I'm going to be sick!" She pushed away from Jack and ran towards the bathroom with her hand over her mouth. She made it just in time. Jack resumed his spot behind her, keeping her hair out of her face and rubbing her back.
Once she was finished, he gently carried her back to bed and tucked her in. "Do you think you are coming down with something or it is just because you are upset over Abigail? Or possibly your dream which you haven't finished tell me about?"
"I'm not sure but I could continue telling you about the dream." Jack sat down on the bed next her and took her hand in his. "Well as I started to say, the Mountie came to tell me you had died, in a landslide."
"A landslide? Again?" Jack blurted out before realizing he should have kept his mouth shut. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. Go ahead."
"I couldn't believe it. I fell to the ground screaming "No" over and over again." She paused as a tear fell down her cheek. She couldn't figure out why she was crying when it was just a dream and Jack was very much alive. "Everyone at the party heard my cries and came running out. Next thing I remember is being in a stagecoach and I'm dressed in black. We drove by the cemetery where you were buried and I asked the driver to let me out. I slowly walked over to your grave and remembered painfully your funeral. Then I saw different images of me trying to move on without you." Her voice cracked as she remembered how hard it was in the dream to move on.
Jack wrapped her in his embrace and held her tightly. He felt some tears fall as he imagined what life would have been like if she had been the one to die. He wouldn't make it. "Shh…" He whispered. "You don't need to tell me the rest."
"There isn't much left that I remember. I want to tell you about it."
"All right."
"Abigail invited me over to house for tea one day and Florence, Molly and Clara were there. They talked to me about how they felt after they became widows. What Florence, Molly and Abigail had to say didn't really help me but what Clara said did. She talked about how she felt cheated when she lost Peter just days after their marriage. That's how I felt. Cheated."
Jack thought about it for a moment and he agreed. If he had lost Elizabeth so soon after marrying her, he would feel the same way. He kissed her then gave her a gently squeeze, letting her know he understood what she had felt in her dream.
"The days pass by and I finally felt I could go back to school. On the first day back, the kids gave me a present. They decided they wanted to name the school after you. It seemed fitting because if you hadn't donated the money for the school I might still be teaching in the saloon."
"I don't know about that. I would have found some way to build that school but it's nice that in your mind you came up with the idea to name the school after me in your dream."
"Yes. The next thing I remember is being at the café and getting a present from Florence, Molly, Clara and Abigail. They made me a quilt with hearts on it. Then we decided to have some coffee and something to eat and when Florence went to poor it…." Elizabeth paused as she remembered feeling nauseous.
"What? What happened when Florence went to poor the coffee?" Jack was confused and when he glanced at Elizabeth, she had turned pale again. "Elizabeth? What's wrong? Are you going to be sick again?" He was beginning to feel scared.
Elizabeth ran the last part of the dream through her mind. She smelled the coffee and it made her feel sick to her stomach. She ran outside to get some air and Abigail followed her out. They talked and Abigail made her realize she might be pregnant. Pregnant! The nausea and dizziness could signs of being pregnant. So could the dream. She had read somewhere that pregnant women have vivid dreams. She opened her eyes and saw Jack staring at her, worry all over his face. "I'm sorry Jack. I was just remembering something from my dream."
"What was it?" He asked breathlessly. He was so frightened that something was wrong with her.
"The coffee that Florence was going to serve made me feel sick. I ran outside to get some fresh air and to calm my stomach. Abigail followed me out and made me realize I might be pregnant."
Jack's eyes widened in surprise. "Were you?"
"Yes, and I delivered a baby boy at Christmas. Except now that I am remembering this, Christmas would not be possible as its October right now."
"A boy? You named him Jack?"
"Yes, how did you know?" She inquired, forgetting that she had been calling for the baby when she woke up that morning.
"You were calling for 'Little Jack" earlier, asking him to cry out for you. I couldn't figure out what you meant until now."
"Oh, yes. I remember now. I woke up thinking it was strange that baby Jack hadn't cried for me at all last night. It was because I had dreamed his birth, dreamed you had died."
Jack let out a breath. "I'm glad we got that all settled, unless there is more to your dream."
"No, well not exactly."
"What do you mean?"
"Jack, I think I may be pregnant."
Jack looked shocked. "What do you mean? That is I know what you mean but why do you think so?" He was babbling, he knew but the thought that she might be carrying his baby made him so happy and his heart felt like it would burst with love. He wanted her to be correct.
"It's all coming back to me. These last few days. I have been feeling under the weather. I've been nauseous and vomited a couple of times, I've been dizzy and exhausted. Then there is the dream I had. I read somewhere that pregnant women can have really strange dreams. I also just realized I haven't had a monthly since before we got married."
Jack thought about her symptoms. He had noticed she wasn't herself since he returned. She was always pale and tired and she wasn't as hungry as she used to be, seeming to only eat toast or biscuits first thing in the morning and soup for dinner. While he was no expert on the female body, he did know that her symptoms could be because she was pregnant. "Would you like me to take you to see Carson? I think we should find out right away, one way or the other."
"I agree, Jack. Let me go get dressed and we can go to town."
"First though, I think you should have a little something to eat. While you are getting ready, would you like me to make you some tea and toast?"
"Yes, please. Thank you!" She leaned in to give him a kiss.
"Anything for you, Sweetheart!" Jack gazed into her beautiful blue eyes before getting up from the bed and heading downstairs. He hummed as he went about preparing her food, thinking about what it would be like to have a baby Thornton in the house. He would need to get going on building their home but knew they could continue to live in the row house for the time being.
Elizabeth was having difficulty deciding what to wear. Her breasts were tender as she put on her corset and she was having problems buttoning her blouse. After several attempts to close her blouse, she decided to try something different. Julie had recently sent her some undergarments that were all the rage in the bigger cities. It was called a camisole with matching bottoms. Julie had explained in the accompanying letter that no corset was needed when wearing the camisole. Elizabeth wondered if it might make it easier if she didn't wear the corset. Her idea worked. The silk camisole felt nice against her skin and did not cause her any pain and was able to get her blouse on. She stopped by her mirror on the way out of the bedroom, noticing that while she looked pale, her eyes sparkled. She was very happy. Even if she wasn't pregnant, which she doubted since she had so many symptoms, she had plenty of reasons to feel joy. Her Jack was home and babies would come in time, she was certain of that.
After she had her tea and toast, they left to walk to town. The weather was nice for the end of October and Elizabeth loved the feel of sunshine on her face. The fresh air was making her feel better. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"
Jack glanced over at her and noticed some color had returned to her face. "Yes it is. We won't have many days left like this."
"Maybe we can take a walk by the lake after we see Carson."
"That sounds wonderful. If you are feeling up to it, maybe we can get a picnic lunch from the café." Jack watched as Elizabeth's expression changed. She looked sad, understandably, and he cursed himself for bringing it up. "I'm sorry, Elizabeth. Just forget I mentioned the picnic."
Elizabeth stopped walking and gently pulled on Jack's arm to turn him to face her. She put her hand on his cheek. "Jack, you did nothing wrong. I'm always going to be sad when thinking about Abigail. I'm sure it will get better over time but I can't go through life in a funk because of it. Abigail would want me to move on and be happy. And a picnic sounds like a great way to be happy, regardless of what Carson finds when he examines me."
"You're right, of course. It will take time. I still feel sad when something reminds me of my dad. Like right now. Ever since you mentioned to me that you might be pregnant, I have found myself thinking of him. How happy he would be to become a grandfather. It makes me miss him more but like you said about Abigail, he would not want me to dwell on his passing." Jack held out his arm to Elizabeth and they continued walking into town.
Carson was just returning to the clinic when Jack and Elizabeth approached. "Good morning, Thornton's. " He smiled at the happy couple. They looked so much in love. He found himself wishing he could find love again someday. "Is there something I can help you with?" He inquired as he opened the door and stepped aside to let Elizabeth enter first.
"Yes there is, Carson." Elizabeth answered. "I've been feeling a bit under the weather. At first I thought it had to do with Abigail's death but I am thinking it's something else now."
Carson shut the door behind him, then motioned for Elizabeth to get on one of the exam tables. Jack helped her up and then stood by her side. "All right, what are your symptoms?"
"It's kind of a long story but because of a strange dream, I began to realize I might be pregnant." Carson raised his eyebrows at the couple while he waited for Elizabeth to continue. Once she had finished, he agreed that her symptoms could mean she was pregnant, so he began his examination. During the exam, Elizabeth clutched Jack's hand, while they waited for the news.
Carson smiled at the couple once he was finished. "You were absolutely correct, Elizabeth. You are most definitely having a baby. Congratulations!"
Elizabeth felt tears come to her eyes and when she looked at Jack, his eyes were moist too. He leaned down to kiss her and she felt a tear fall from his face to her own. "Thank you, Carson. When am I due?"
"I'd put you at about eight weeks, so you should have the baby in June."
"Is there anything I need to do to have a healthy pregnancy and baby?" Elizabeth knew she would need to get plenty of rest and eat healthy but she wanted to confirm that with Carson. Life was too precious and she wanted to make sure she did everything she could to have a healthy baby.
"Make sure you get plenty of rest, eat right and let Jack here pamper you from time to time."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes towards heaven as she already knew Jack would be over protective of her now. "I will." She replied.
"You mentioned having some morning sickness. To help you with that, I recommend waking up a little earlier in the morning and eat some saltine crackers or dry toast before getting out of bed. It will help with the nausea and you should be able to eat a more nutritious breakfast before heading to work. Also try eating more frequently during the day. Have small snacks like cheese or fruit. That will keep the morning sickness from returning. Don't worry if you appetite is less than before. Your body is getting used to being pregnant and once you move into the second trimester, your appetite will return."
"All right, that makes sense." Elizabeth replied as she started to scoot off the exam table. She felt Jack put his arm on hers to help her off. His over protective streak was already starting. She would need to get used to it. "Thanks again."
"Come see me in about a month for a checkup but if you have any questions or concerns come see me or send Jack."
"We will. Have a great day." Jack shook Carson's hand before they exited the clinic. Once they were outside, Elizabeth turned to hug him but instead of reciprocating, he grabbed her hand and led her to the jail. Elizabeth was confused at first, not understanding why he didn't want to hug her back but she soon realized what he was thinking. As soon as he closed the door, he picked her up in his arms and swung her around in a circle, laughing and crying at the same time, showing how he really felt about their growing family. He just wanted to show his excitement in private.
"Jack, please put me down. I'm getting dizzy." She giggled at his reaction but wanted him to stop before she felt sick.
Jack carefully put her back down on the ground and looked at her with sadness in his eyes. He pulled her to his old bed and helped her sit down. "Oh my gosh, Elizabeth. I'm so sorry. I should have known swinging you around like that might make you feel sick. I'm just so excited about the baby that I wasn't thinking."
"Don't ever be sorry for showing me how happy you are about anything. I just wanted you to stop before I felt sick and possibly threw up on you. That wouldn't be good for you or the jail."
"That's true." He gazed into her eyes, amazed at how much they sparkled with joy. He was sure his eyes matched hers. He brought his hand up to her cheek and gently caressed it. "I love you so much, Elizabeth. And I love our baby too. It's amazing to me how much love I feel for a little person I haven't even met yet."
"I love you too, Jack and I know exactly what you are feeling for our baby. I feel it too." They sat on the bed for several minutes just taking each other in and thinking of their baby.
"Do you feel up to having that picnic I mentioned?" Jack asked her.
"I do, yes. I am starting to get hungry."
Jack jumped up from the bed and helped her rise. "That's good. I'm glad you are hungry. We have to listen to what Carson said about eating more frequently. Let's go to the café and get some sandwiches."
"That sounds wonderful." They started for the door before Elizabeth stopped and turned Jack around. "I love you so much Jack." Her eyes were glistening with tears, happy tears for her new life with Jack but also sad tears for Abigail, who would not be there when her baby arrived.
Jack could tell she her tears were a mixture of sad and happy tears. He wiped her tears away and gently kissed her. "I love you too."