Elizabeth woke up on the middle of the night, reaching for her new husband, but his place in the bed was empty, the sheets cool. She opened her eyes and sat up. "Sweetie?" He wasn't in the room so she slipped her robe on and went down the stairs. "Jack?" He looked at her from the couch where he was watching the flames dance and crackle in the fireplace.

"Hey, why aren't you asleep?" he asked as she sat next to him and snuggled up, covering herself with a blanket.

"I reached for you, but you weren't there." He moved his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, kissing her temple.

"Sorry. Let's go to bed."

"This is nice too. Want to tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I guess I'm still surprised Lila showed up here."

"It was really sweet of you to arrange for her to stay with Abigail."

He shrugged. "The moment she said that Paul guy hit her…"

"You wanted to protect her."

"She's never needed it before, not sure why I did that."

"Because, Jack. That's who you are. If someone you love is in danger, you'll do anything to protect them."

"I would. If it was you or Audrey…"

"I know." She kissed his cheek. "I love you, Jack Thornton."

"I love you." He looked at her, loving her so deeply it brought tears to his eyes. "Thank you for loving me, Sweetheart."

"As much as we both fought it, falling in love with you was the easiest thing I've ever done."

He reached over and placed his hand on her tummy, waiting for a kick. They waited awhile but concluded that the baby could be sleeping. "We should probably do the same thing. The train is at nine, right?" She nodded and then smiled when she felt a kick to her ribs. She moved his hand higher and waited.

"Oh! There's my boy," Jack said excitedly when he felt it.

"It could be a girl."

"It's a boy." She smiled and then accepted his help to get off the couch. He stepped close to her and touched her cheek with his fingers. "It will be nice to be alone with you for a week."

"We're alone now." She smiled, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I think we should take advantage of it, don't you?"

THE NEXT MORNING

Elizabeth was trying to hurry through the packing process but Jack kept handing her more.

After he handed her yet another pair of shoes, she stopped him. "Really, Jack? I would have thought you would have been a very light packer. You know, less is more?"

"Sorry, are you out of room? We can just take another bag."

"Sweetie, we said one bag each. Now we have three. We certainly don't need a fourth. Let's just start over."

They didn't really have time to start over but she didn't want to take enough stuff for five people either.

After ten minutes of rearranging, they finally pared everything down to two bags. "Ok, let's go say goodbye to Audrey and get to the train station." Elizabeth said as she hurried down the stairs. She was grateful Jack had thought ahead and borrowed a wagon to get them to town. The more pregnant she got, the more tired she became, and it was a long walk to town and then back to the train station.

"You're pretty quiet," Jack mentioned as they drove.

"Sorry. I'm just thinking." She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and leaned against his shoulder.

"About what?"

"Oh, nothing. What did you want to talk about?"

"Nothing I just wanted to make sure everything was ok."

"Of course it is, I'm with you." She raised her head and kissed his cheek.

"Have you ever been to Vancouver, Elizabeth?"

"No, I haven't. Before moving here, I had never been out of the States. I grew up in Boston but I've been to New York and that's about it. Have you been to Vancouver?"

"Yes, we used to go once a year when we were kids. Dad would get time off during the summer when we were off school and they would take us."

"What did you do?"

"We went camping. Dad, being a Mountie, enjoyed it a lot more than Mom did."

"Did Lila like it?"

"Yeah, she did. She has always liked that sort of thing. She was more of a brother than a sister. She hated wearing dresses and hated having her hair in braids. You know, the normal girl stuff."

"What happened with her, Jack? Why did she leave?"

"Do you really want to know?"

"Yes, of course. She is my sister now too."

"I will explain once we get on the train. It's too long of a story for now." They pulled up to the front of the dress shop so they could go see Audrey. Elizabeth stood up to climb down, but Jack stopped her.

"Honey, be careful. I'll help you." He reached up to help her down as she sighed.

"I could have gotten down by myself."

"I don't want you to fall. I would rather help you." She had to keep reminding herself that she didn't need to be so independent anymore. She had someone who was more than willing to help and was obviously very protective of her.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

"Of course." He took her hand and they walked into Clara's.

"Mama! Daddy! You're here." Audrey ran up to them with her arms out.

"Hi, sweets. Were you good for Miss Abigail and Bill last night?"

"Yes, Mama."

Jack picked her up and held her for a moment. "Hi, Pumpkin. I'm going to miss you when we're away."

"Do you have to go?" She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder.

"We do, but you know what? We will bring you a present when we come home, how's that?"

"A present? Like what?"

"It will be a surprise. You have to promise to be good while we are gone, though." It was a silly request because as long as he had known her, she had never been anything but good.

"Yes, I will be very good."

"That's my girl."

"Love you Daddy."

"I love you, Pumpkin."

"We really should go, Jack. Our train will be here soon." Elizabeth didn't want to break up the adorable moment between them, but they were running short on time.

Elizabeth gave her daughter another hug and kiss and they were on their way to the train station.

A DAY LATER, VANCOUVER

Elizabeth woke up as the train pulled into the station in Vancouver. Jack kissed her forehead, "Good morning, Sweetheart."

"Hi," she said with a yawn. "I cannot wait to get off this train." Her back was hurting from sitting on the hard bench all night and she just wanted to walk around. As soon as the train stopped, she stood, rubbing the knot out of her lower back. Jack stood up and massaged her shoulders.

"Are you feeling ok?"

"Yes, I'm just tired and sore, maybe a bit stir crazy."

"I bet a hot bath would be nice, wouldn't it?"

"Yes, sounds wonderful but I'm starving and I need to use the washroom. It's hard to know what to do first."

"I would suggest the washroom," he said with a chuckle.

"Yes, I think so. This baby keeps kicking in a certain spot and it's becoming urgent that I get there. What's taking so long?" She stood on her toes, trying to see around everyone in front of her, but she wasn't quite tall enough.

"Try to think of something else."

"Any ideas?"

"What do you want to eat?"

"Meatloaf, mashed potatoes with butter, Apple pie. Abigail's warm, flaky, buttery biscuits."

"Wow, you are hungry. Sure there's only one baby in there?"

She elbowed him in the ribs. "Very funny. You asked." The line was finally moving but still not fast enough. "Ok, let's see. The last thing you told me about Lila was that right after your Dad died, she left to travel, leaving your Mom alone."

"Yes. I had gone to the academy and she left my Mom a note, leaving in the middle of the night. She said she felt trapped in the house and she needed to explore the world. I just don't get it. She was fifteen. Why would a fifteen year old girl decide to travel by herself without a plan or money?"

"Did she have a boyfriend?"

"I don't know. If she did, that's an even worse reason to leave. She should have stayed with my Mom. It wasn't fair to leave right then."

"Maybe she was jealous?"

"Of what?"

"You."

"Me? That doesn't make any sense." Elizabeth could tell he didn't want to talk about it anymore, so she decided to drop the subject.

Five minutes later, they finally stepped off the train with their bags and rushed into the depot to use the washroom. As Jack waited he thought about what Elizabeth had said. Could she have been jealous of him? Maybe that he got to leave the house, when she was the one who wanted to?

BACK IN HOPE VALLEY

Clara was working on a new dress for herself, something she rarely allowed herself the luxury of having. Normally, she was so busy, she didn't have time to think about it, but she was wanting to look her best for Tim. He asked her to dinner at his home on Monday night, so she had two days to finish it. The dress was green, complimenting her eyes and dark hair and the style was modest, yet had a certain flair that she hoped would catch his attention.

Tim Davis was a kind, thoughtful man, but he seemed to need some encouragement in the courting aspect of their relationship. She knew he cared about her, but he had yet to give her any affection, aside from kissing her cheek, or offering his arm. She wasn't asking for a lot, just maybe some sign that he was on the same page.

AT ABIGAIL'S RESTAURANT

Abigail was completely amazed at Lila Thornton's talents. She could cook, very well, and she was good as a waitress and good with numbers. Abigail heard from Lila, herself, that she could shoot a gun better than her brother and ride a horse better than any man. What couldn't she do?

"Lila, can you sew?"

"No ma'am. Mama tried to teach me but, I have no patience for pushing a needle through some fabric for hours when I could be riding my horse."

"I'm going to go to Clara's and check on Matthew and Audrey."

"Yes ma'am. I got it covered." She went to the stove to dish up some stew for a customer waiting in the dining room.

IN VANCOUVER

Elizabeth slowly swayed with her husband to the music, enjoying the smell of his aftershave. She looked up at him, tears filling her eyes. As much as she fought it, the dancing took her back to Boston again, her last anniversary with Charlie.

BOSTON, NINE MONTHS BEFORE

"Where are we going?" Elizabeth asked as they climbed into the automobile.

"Out. It's a surprise. No hints."

"Come on, Charlie. Just a small one."

"Nope. I can guarantee you will love it though."

"Do you think Audrey will be ok with the babysitter? She hasn't stayed with her before and I'm a bit nervous."

"She will be just fine. We will only be gone overnight. She will be sleeping most of the time we're gone anyway." Charlie moved his arm around her shoulders, reassuring her. "I'm going to do my best to keep your mind on me, not Audrey. Just for tonight."

Ten minutes later, the driver pulled up in front of the restaurant, hopping out to open the door for them.

"Charlie, this is wonderful. Thank you for bringing me here." She took his hand as they walked into the room.

"Only the best for you, Hon." He kissed her temple.

As soon as they were seated, Charlie pulled her to the side.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Dancing with you."

"No one else is dancing. They're all watching us." She glanced around at the other couples, seated at their tables.

"I don't mind. I'm sure they're all thinking how beautiful you are. I know that's what I'm thinking."

"That's very sweet. Happy Anniversary, Charlie."

"Happy Anniversary, Sweets."

PRESENT DAY, VANCOUVER

Elizabeth leaned against Jack so he wouldn't see her tears. She didn't want to have to explain why she was crying. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him or cause a disagreement on their honeymoon.

The song ended, much too quickly, and he led her back to their table.

He knew she was hiding tears. He thought it could just be hormones, but he guessed that something else was on her mind. "Honey? What's wrong? Don't blame it on hormones." He squeezed her hand.

She shook her head, wiping her eyes again. "Let's just enjoy the meal." He looked at his menu, stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"What are you hungry for?"

"I'm not really."

"You were starving not two hours ago. You should try to eat something."

"Can we just go back to the room? Get room service? I really don't feel like being out." She wiped her eyes and looked away from him.

He was disappointed but he didn't want her to be uncomfortable and she was more likely to talk to him in the room, than out in public. He stood up, offering his hand and they walked back to the room.

She noticed he hadn't spoken since they left the dining room. "Are you mad?"

"Of course not. I just wish you would tell me why you were crying." He untied his tie and removed his shoes.

"I don't want to hurt you or cause an argument, Jack."

"Honey, I'm your husband. You can tell me anything." She looked at him, still hesitant.

She knew the second she said the name Charlie, he would get mad or worse, stop talking or leave.

He didn't know how to convince her so he just held her, hoping she would open up. They were supposed to be enjoying their time alone and instead she was upset. "You know I love you, Elizabeth?"

"I know. I love you too, so much. I hope you never forget that, no matter what." That statement, "no matter what", made Jack nervous. Why did she say that?

"Ok, please tell me what's going on. Are you leaving me?"

"What? Of course not! Why would you think that?"

"I don't know. You are crying and you won't tell me why. You told me you didn't want to hurt me or cause an argument and then you say not to forget you love me, no matter what. I'm a bit worried."

She thought about it and he was right. It sounded really bad. "I'm sorry, Jack. You don't need to be worried." She grabbed his hand and pulled him down on the bed next to her. "The reason I was crying was because dancing with you, made me miss Charlie."

"You used to go dancing?"

"Not often, just on our last anniversary. Little things that happen cause me to remember things in the past. I try to not think about them, but it's hard. I'm so sorry if I hurt you, Jack."

"You didn't hurt me. I totally understand why you would think about him. You were married a long time and you loved him very much. It will get easier, I promise." She was so relieved. She had been so worried about telling him. "I meant what I told Audrey. I don't want you to forget Charlie. I'm not here to take his place."

"I just feel like I need to move forward and then old memories come back." She covered her face with her hands, wanting to stop her tears. She wanted to be happy so badly. He pulled her into his arms and rubbed her back.

"Its ok, Elizabeth. Give yourself time. I'm not going anywhere."