15 months later:

Elizabeth opened the oven and pulled out the roast beef she was cooking. It smelled wonderful. She then checked the rest of the dinner she was planning for Jack's homecoming. Everything was going as planned. Jack had been away for two months; he had sent her a telegram yesterday telling her he would be home today. She was so happy because she had wonderful news for him. She planned to have a special dinner and a night alone with him. She asked Charlotte to take Erin for the night and Charlotte happily agreed. She loved spending time with her beautiful granddaughter and since she knew what it was that Elizabeth wanted to tell Jack, she was more than willing to help. Now all Elizabeth needed for a perfect evening was the man himself.

Jack ran up the steps to the front door, anxious to see his wife and daughter. He hated having to go on these extended assignments and leaving his family, but as a Mountie, he was expected to do them. He wondered how much Erin had grown in the time he was gone. He felt a little sad knowing he missed a big part of his daughter's life. He stopped himself from those thoughts. He was home now and he couldn't wait to put his arms around Elizabeth and then go hold his sweet angel and shower and shower both of them with kisses. He opened the door and stepped inside, his nose immediately alerted him to something good cooking for dinner. "Elizabeth?" He called out. "I'm home!"

Elizabeth came running out of the kitchen. "Jack! I missed you so much!" She ran into his opened arms and gave him a big kiss.

Jack eagerly returned his wife's affections. When they parted, he whispered into her ear. "I missed you too. You and Erin. Is she sleeping?"

"Actually, Jack, I thought we needed to have a night to ourselves. Your mother has her and will bring home in the morning. I hope you don't mind. We could go see her after dinner if you want." She bit her lip, wondering if she should have kept Erin home. She hoped Jack wouldn't be angry with her.

Jack saw the worry in her eyes. While he did want to see Erin, he thought Elizabeth's plan to just spend the evening alone together was a great idea. "I don't mind waiting until tomorrow to see her, Sweetheart. Spending a quiet evening with you is the perfect way to celebrate my coming home."

Elizabeth had a twinkle in her eye as she stood on her toes to kiss him. "I have something to tell you that may make you want to celebrate more. Dinner needs about another half hour to cook so let's go sit on the sofa together and talk." She grabbed his arm and tried pulling him towards the living room, but he pulled her back towards him.

"Would you mind if I go clean up first? I hardly stopped the last two days just so I could get home faster to you and Erin. I think a quick bath and a change of clothes are in order."

"Of course, Jack. Go get changed. I will be in the kitchen checking on dinner while you get cleaned up." She stood on her toes and gave him a long, passionate kiss, letting him know what would be coming later that night.

"Oh, My Sweet Elizabeth. You will never know how much I missed you."

"I think I do know because of how much I missed you too." She kissed his cheek, then left the living room.

A little while later, Jack made his way to the kitchen. He was surprised when he walked in. Elizabeth had lit candles all over the room, making it look very romantic. There were flowers on the table too and there was a gift sitting by his place. Elizabeth was checking something on the stove, so her back was turned to him. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist, kissing her neck. "Wow, Elizabeth. The kitchen looks great."

She looked over her shoulder at him. "Thank you. I need to let the roast rest for a few more minutes. Why don't we sit down and you can open the welcome home present I got for you." She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the table.

"Ok." Jack sat down in his chair and picked up the gift. He shook it but didn't hear anything rattling in the box. He tore off the wrapping paper and opened the box. Inside was a small teddy bear wearing a shirt that said "I love my Daddy!" He stared at it, noticing the bear was also wearing what looked to be a Mountie hat. He swallowed hard, a lump forming in his throat and he felt tears fall down his cheeks. He looked up at Elizabeth; she was smiling and he could see love shining in her eyes. "Elizabeth!" He could barely speak her name, he was so choked up with emotions. He cleared his throat and tried again. "Does this mean what I think it means? You're pregnant?"

Elizabeth nodded her head, tears streaming down her cheeks as well. "Yes, Jack. I'm pregnant again. There must be something about us and conceiving babies' right before you have to go away on Mountie business. I'm two months along."

Jack jumped up from the table and kneeled down next to her. He looked into her beautiful blue eyes and brought his hand to her face to wipe away her tears. "I love you so much, Sweetheart!" He put his hand on her abdomen. "I love you too, baby."

"We love you too, Daddy!" Elizabeth replied and leaned down to kiss him. They were both crying happy tears when they parted. They stared at each other for a few minutes before Elizabeth started to stand up. "I should get dinner on the table."

Jack put his hands on her shoulders and guided her back into her chair. "You sit down and rest, Sweetheart. I will get dinner."

"Jack, I am perfectly capable of getting the food on the table. After all, I cooked it."

"I know you are and I am happy you planned this special meal. I still want you to rest and I will take care of things. Remember, I missed out on a lot of this when you were expecting Erin. Please, let me pamper you tonight."

Elizabeth sighed. She wasn't going to win this battle. Yet, in a way, she thought it was very sweet of him. "Ok, Jack. You win." She smiled at him and he returned the grin.

Once he had put everything on the table, he sat down and reached across to grab her hand. He squeezed it and smiled at her. "Thank you for the wonderful coming home present, Sweetheart."

She returned the smile. "You're welcome." She then started putting food on her plate. Jack frowned when he noticed she only took a small portion. She saw him looking at her plate and the expression on his face told her he was worried about how much she was eating. "I'm fine, Jack. This was how I was when I was in the early months of pregnancy with Erin."

"All right, Sweetheart. You have to forgive me a little. I wasn't around much during the first couple of months when you were pregnant with Erin. By the time I got home, you said the morning sickness was almost gone."

Elizabeth reached over to hold his hand and give him a reassuring squeeze. "I know, Jack and I love you for being concerned about me and the baby. We will be fine, I promise."

Jack smiled at her. "I will always be concerned about you and our children. It's part of my job as husband and father." He picked up her hand and brought it to his lips. "We should eat now. I can't wait to snuggle with you after to dinner."

"Me either." She replied.

They ate their dinner in relative silence, occasionally talking about how things went on his assignment, how she was feeling and how things were going around Hope Valley. When they finished dinner, Jack offered to wash the dishes and Elizabeth took him up on his offer. She then went to the bedroom to change into the new negligee she just received in the mail this week. It was dark blue in color with lace on the neckline and at the hem. She brushed out her long, curly hair and put some perfume on behind her ears and on her wrists. She gave one last look at herself in the mirror, pleased with what she saw and then walked out of their room just as Jack was walking towards her.

Jack stopped when he saw his beautiful wife. She was breathtaking in her blue robe that he was certain was made of silk. He closed the gap between them and pulled her into his arms, giving her a big kiss, a kiss that showed her just how much he had missed her while he was gone. Without breaking the kiss, he gently picked her up in his arms and walked to their bedroom. He set her down on her feet, then slipped the robe of her body. He gasped when he saw what was underneath. The color of her negligee brought out the blue in her eyes. "Elizabeth!" He said a voice rough with passion. "You look absolutely gorgeous." He began kissing her again while Elizabeth pulled his shirt out from his trousers and unbuttoned it, slipping it off his body. She then unbuckled his belt and slid his pants of his body. He slowly slipped the straps of her gown of each shoulder, planting kisses as he went. When he let it fall to the floor, he swept her up in his arms and carried her to their bed. Their passion increased as they kissed and caressed each other until they became one. Afterwards, Elizabeth fell asleep in Jack's arms. They stayed awake long after she did, just watching her sleep and thinking how lucky he was to have a wonderful wife, daughter and soon they would welcome a new baby to their little family. He drifted off to sleep, dreaming about a little boy playing with his Mountie hat, just like he did with his father's hat when he was a little boy.

Elizabeth woke first the next morning, with Jack's arm firmly around her middle. She felt a little nauseous and wanted to get out of bed to make herself some mint tea and toast. She tried to remove Jack's arm but every time she did, he would pull her closer to him, not letting her go. She finally decided she had to wake him up. "Jack! Wake up!" He let out a little groan but his eyes remained closed. Elizabeth, starting to feel worse, turned her head slightly and said his name loudly but he still didn't wake up. Elizabeth tried to move herself over to face him but he continued to hold her in place. Elizabeth then started to panic as she felt more and more like she needed to throw up. "Jack!" She screamed. "Let go of me now!"

Her screams woke him up and he loosened his grip on her. "Elizabeth, what's wrong?" he asked as Elizabeth jumped out and ran to the bathroom. He quickly followed her and entered the bathroom in time to see her kneel at the toilet and throw up. He bent done next to her and pulled her hair away from her face. She sat down on the cold floor when she was finished. Jack gave her a quick kiss on her head the stood to go get a cloth. He wetted it down with cold water and returned to Elizabeth. He carefully picked her up so he didn't make her sick again and wiped down her face. Feeling cold, she leaned into his body, hoping she would stop shivering. It didn't work. Jack, noticing her shaking, picked her up just as carefully as before, and carried her back to bed. He sat down next to her and held one of her hands. "Is there anything I can do for you, Sweetheart? Anything to make you feel better?"

"Yes there is. Would you make me some mint tea and dry toast? That's what usually calms down the morning sickness."

He stood up and leaned down to kiss her. "You got it, Sweetheart. You just stay here and rest." She nodded and then he walked out of the room, pausing for just a moment to look back at her. She had closed her eyes and her face was pale but she looked so beautiful. He then walked down to the kitchen and started boiling water. He located the mint tea she requested, sliced some bread for her toast and got a tray ready to bring down to her. He ran outside and picked some of the wild flowers that grew in their yard and put them in a vase. By then the water was boiled and the toast was ready. He returned to their bedroom. "Sweetheart? I have your tea and toast."

Elizabeth opened her eyes and grinned when she saw the flowers on the tray. "Oh, Jack. Thank you for the flowers." She slowly sat up in bed, making sure she didn't get dizzy. Jack placed the tray on the floor and helped her get settled against the headboard. He then put the tray on the bed and watched as she picked up a piece of toast and began eating. She was grateful that her stomach had seemed to settle down some as she finished the first piece of toast. "Thank you again, Jack for getting the tea and toast for me. I am feeling much better now."

Jack inwardly breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to admit to her that he was worried. He had missed all this last time and he really didn't know what to expect. "Happy to help, Ma'am!" He replied as he pretended to tip a hat at her. She giggled, which is what he was hoping she would do. She finished her toast and the moved her tea cup to her nightstand so Jack could take the tray back to the kitchen. When he returned, he got back in bed with her and pulled her closer to him. They stay that way for quite a while until they heard a knock at the door.

Elizabeth sat up. "That must be your mom, bring Erin home." She said as she got out of bed and put on her warmer robe.

Jack jumped out of bed, excited to go see his daughter. They walked out to answer the door together. "Hi, Ma!" Jack said as he opened the door. He reached over to take Erin out of his mother's arms. "Hello, My Sweet Angel! I missed you so much! Did you miss me?"

Erin looked up at her daddy and gave him one of her beautiful smiles, the ones that look like his. "Dada! Love you!" She reached up and touched his face. Jack held her close and kissed the top of her head. He then walked to the living room to sit down with her in his lap.

Elizabeth and Charlotte watched the scene of father and daughter. "It's amazing the love my son feels for his baby girl." Charlotte said to Elizabeth.

"It is. He has been in love with her since the day she was born."

"Did Jack like the present you got him?" Charlotte asked with a big grin on her face. She had thought the idea was so clever when Elizabeth had mentioned it to her. She would have loved to have told her Tom she was pregnant that way too.

"He cried when he saw it, happy tears."

Charlotte laughed. "I figured he would." She gave Elizabeth a hug. "I am going to get going. You don't need me around while you and Jack celebrate his homecoming."

"Thanks again for taking Erin last night."

"Of course! You know I love having her. Anytime you and Jack want some alone time, just ask." She walked into the living room to see her son. "Jack, I am going to head home now. Enjoy your time with your family." She kissed his forehead.

"Bye, Ma! Thanks for letting Erin stay with you last night." Charlotte nodded then left the happy family alone.

Elizabeth went to join her husband and daughter on the sofa. She ran her finger down Erin's face and her daughter looked up at her and smiled. "Mama!"

"I missed you, Angel!" Elizabeth leaned down and kissed her. Then Elizabeth kissed Jack. "I love you and our little family." She kept one hand on Erin's cheek and put her other hand on her abdomen.

Jack placed his hand on top of hers. "I love you, Erin and Baby Thornton so much. I am so blessed."

"We are so blessed." She corrected. "Jack, I think we are having a boy this time."

Jack laughed. "I think we are too because last night I had a dream. I was teaching a little boy how to fish and then I watched him play with my Mountie hat, just like I did with my father's hat when I was a boy."

Elizabeth smiled. "You were had a dream we were having a girl when I was pregnant before and you were right. We must be having a boy, but even if this baby is another girl, I will love her just the same."

"So will I." Jack leaned down carefully to kiss his wife, then noticed that Erin had fallen asleep. "Sweetheart, how are you feeling now?"

"Much better, so much so that I am feel like having breakfast."

"Why don't you put Erin in her crib and I will make us some breakfast."

"Sounds like a plan. Just don't make eggs. I can't stand the smell of eggs cooking while I am pregnant."

"Good to know, even though I was planning on making eggs. I was thinking pancakes."

"Yummy! I would love some pancakes." She took Erin from Jack and walked out of the room. Jack got up and went to the kitchen, thinking about how happy he was about everything in his life. Elizabeth was correct. They were both blessed.