Elizabeth walked into her bedroom with Charlotte's help. She sat on the bed and sighed.

"Mom, I'm doing just fine. You don't have to worry."

"Sorry, I'm going to worry about you. No getting around it."

"Ok, fine, but please don't tell Jack about this."

"Elizabeth think about how angry he would be if he found out we kept it from him, plus Bill already left to get him."

"Well, I guess there's no getting around it."

AT THE JAIL

"Jack? Are you here?" Bill walked into the jail and looked around.

"Bill, what can I do for you?"

"Well, I don't want to alarm you…"

"Nothing good starts with that sentence."

"Earlier, when Elizabeth was carrying Drew and leaving Caleb's room, she became lightheaded. She was able to brace herself against the wall but…"

Jack ran out of the jail and down the street to his house. "Elizabeth! Where are you? Mom?"

"Jack, shh. The kids are sleeping." Charlotte came down the stairs.

"Mom, how is she?"

"She is just fine. She's resting." Jack ran up the stairs and down the hall to their room.

"Jack, I'm fine. Don't worry." Elizabeth could see the panic on his face.

"Bill told me…"

"Yes, I was lightheaded, but I had been working all day and I didn't eat or have any water. That's all. I'm feeling fine."

"If you're fine, why are you in bed?" He grabbed her hand between both of his.

"I agree, but your Step-father was pretty concerned, and I don't know if you've ever tried to say no to that man, but I wouldn't suggest it." She smiled, trying to make light of the situation. He stared at her, not seeing the humor. "Jack." She leaned towards him, putting her hand on his cheek. "I'm fine."

"When I heard you were holding Drew and you almost fell, I…well, do you blame me for worrying?"

"No, of course not." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too." He looked at her again and decided to go talk to Andrea. "I need to talk to Andrea. I'll see you later?"

"Dinner?"

"Yes, but you rest and drink lots of water."

"Yes, Constable."

"Elizabeth."

"I will, sorry. You looked so serious, I shouldn't have joked." He started to leave but she stopped him. "Jack, wait sweetie." He turned back and she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She stood up and walked over to him. "I feel fine now. Don't worry." She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his cheek.

"It could have been bad, Elizabeth. What if you had been walking down the stairs with Drew?"

She pulled back slightly and leaned her forehead against his. "Don't play the what if game Jack. That isn't what happened. Are you going to worry about me going up and down the stairs everyday, all day? You'll never get any work done."

He sighed, knowing she had a point. "Promise me you'll rest."

"I already did. Now can you take me downstairs please? I need to use the bathroom."

He tried to pick her up but she insisted on walking. She took his arm and held on as they came down. "Thank you. I'll be fine." He left her at the door to the bathroom and went to the kitchen.

IN THE KITCHEN

"Andrea? Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

"Sure, Jack."

"How are you today?"

"Fine. Thank you for letting me stay here while Henry is working."

"You are always welcome here and you're safe here."

"I know." He decided to just ask the question he had been wondering about.

"Why did you change your names?"

"It's a long story."

"I would love to hear it."

She looked at Megan, sleeping in her arms. "As a protection I guess."

"What we're you needing protection from?"

"Its not what you're thinking Jack."

"What am I thinking?"

"That he hit me or hurt me in some way."

"He didn't? What about Amy? Or your Mom?"

"No. He is a very strict father. All the time growing up," she paused as Elizabeth walked in the room.

"I'm sorry. I need to eat and drink something. I'll be gone in a moment."

"Please stay, Elizabeth. I owe you an explanation too."

Elizabeth made a sandwich and grabbed a glass of water and sat down next to Jack.

"So, All the time I was growing up, he was very controlling and strict. He never let me go to friends houses, even to work on schoolwork. I never got to do anything. The second I was home from school, he was at work, but I was expected to clean the house and make dinner and then do my homework. I couldn't play outside or even inside until everything was done. When he got home, I had to help him with the barn chores, milking the cow, cleaning stalls. I'm pretty sure he regretted I wasn't a boy. Needless to say, when I met Henry, it was a welcome change, something to look forward to in school."

"How old were you when you met Henry?"

"Fourteen. He was fifteen and somewhat rebellious. We found ways to see each other. He would sneak over to my house after everyone was asleep and take me to the barn. We would stay up late talking and then one night he kissed me. It was nothing I had ever done before, but I knew I loved him and would marry him so I welcomed it. He made me feel loved and wanted, something I didn't feel at home."

"Weren't you scared your parents would find out?" Elizabeth was baffled.

"At first yes, but then, I didn't care anymore. I saw Henry as a way to escape and that's what I wanted."

Jack took Elizabeth's hand and squeezed it. He sensed what was coming next.

"After a year, we were getting anxious to leave. It was getting harder to sneak out but one night we managed to get away. He proposed and we got carried away and I ended up pregnant. We had to wait three months to get married because I had to be sixteen to do it without parental consent. We couldn't get married with our real names or they might track us down, so we became Derek and Mandy."

Megan started waking up. "Andrea, may I hold her?" Elizabeth asked.

"Of course." She handed her over and Elizabeth quieted her immediately. She placed her on her chest, gently rocking until she fell back asleep. She smelled so sweet, she couldn't get enough.

Jack wrapped his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders, pulling her close. She looked at him, knowing he knew this was what she wanted.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good."

"Not dizzy anymore?"

"No. I'm fine."

"I'm sorry to intrude, but when I heard you were dizzy, I remembered something."

"You're not intruding. What did you want to say?"

"My mom, before she got pregnant with Amy, was anemic."

"What does that mean?" Jack asked.

"It means she didn't have enough iron in her blood. She was dizzy and really tired and she would go for hours without eating because she didn't have much of an appetite. The doctor said that may have been why she couldn't get pregnant right away too. So I was thinking maybe that's why you haven't been feeling well."

"What do you have to do to get better?" Elizabeth was intrigued. This sounded exactly like how she felt.

"You need to eat more things with iron. Like dark green vegetables and beans and tomatoes. Some meat has iron too, like beef."

"Oh wow. I'm going to try that. I've been feeling just like that. Jack what if it helps us have a baby?"

"I hope it does. I just want you to feel better."

Elizabeth felt better already, just knowing what Andrea said. She would start as soon as she could.

THE NEXT WEEK

The next week brought the visit of the Constables. Elizabeth and Charlotte cleaned the guest room and put an extra mattress on the floor. At dinner time, Charlotte went home, taking Maddie and Emmy for the night. Elizabeth didn't want to completely overwhelm Jack's superiors.

She heard the door open and three male voices. She was nervous, but not sure why. Jack assured her that they were not there to judge her or see if she was doing anything wrong, but despite that, she wanted to make a good impression. "Caleb, do I look ok?" She smoothed out her dress and touched her hair.

"You look nervous!"

"Thank you, I mean, do I look ok?"

"You look pretty, Mama."

"Thank you, baby."

"Mama up?" Drew walked over and held her skirt, followed closely by Will. She picked them up, one in each arm and walked into the living room to greet the men.

"Hi, Daddy!" Caleb said excitedly, and perhaps a bit too loudly.

"Hi, buddy. Come here." Caleb walked over, not nervous or afraid. He was very obviously excited to meet more Mounties, just like Daddy.

Elizabeth watched as Caleb talked to them and smiled. She wouldn't be surprised if he followed in Jack's footsteps one day. She put Will down and walked over to Jack.

"Constables, this is my wife Elizabeth and our other two sons, Will and Drew."

"Ma'am." They removed their hats and smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you gentlemen. Please make yourselves at home. If you want to see your room, it's up the stairs, second door on the left."

"Thank you, Mrs. Thornton," the older one said.

"Please call me Elizabeth."

"Very well, I'm Tom Hunter. This is George Platt. Thank you for opening your home to us."

"Its our pleasure. Are you men hungry? I've made dinner."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Ok, well, the kitchen is this way."

LATER THAT EVENING

"Dinner was good, Honey." He sat down next to her on the couch in front of the fire.

"Thank you." She snuggled into his chest and shut her eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I've got a little more energy since I started eating differently. I'm sure it will take awhile to get back where I should be, but it's a start."

"No more dizziness?"

"Not in the past few days. I've made sure to let the boys come down the stairs on their own, just in case. It's so cute. They turn around and put their hands on the step and do it backwards. It takes a long time, but at least they're safe."

"Good."

"Jack? How did your meeting go today with Tom and George?"

"So far so good. I showed them the town. They're happy with the progress and lack of crime. I took them to see Adam."

"Why?"

"I'm still not convinced that he's not going to cause trouble. So I figured this might make him nervous a bit. Maybe he'll realize what I'm here for and that I won't allow bad things to go on."

"Maggie doesn't trust the Mounties so maybe he has those same feelings."

"Maybe."

"Let's go to bed. I'm tired." She stood up and waited for him. He locked the door and then put his arm around her waist and they walked upstairs together.

At four o'clock, Jack got up and dressed in his uniform.

"Honey? Are you leaving?" He sat down next to her on the bed.

"Yeah, go back to sleep. Bill and Mom are coming at seven."

"Why?"

"Bill feels uneasy if you're here by yourself so they're staying when they bring the girls home."

"Ok. You Mounties sure worry a lot." She winked and sat up smiling.

"As far as he is concerned, you're his daughter and he wants to protect you. I'm ok with that since I won't be here."

"Well, I'm just fine, but I'm grateful for both of you."

"Dada!" Drew stood up and pointed at Jack.

"Hey buddy."

"Dada, up." He reached for him smiling. Jack picked him up and snuggled him for a moment. "Mama." Jack walked him over and gave him to Elizabeth.

"Love you, Jack."

"Love you." He kissed her gently. "I'll see you for dinner." She nodded and laid down, snuggling under the blankets with Drew.

Three hours later, Elizabeth, Drew and Will were sleeping in the bed when Caleb crawled under the covers. Then Emmy and Maddie walked in with Charlotte and Bill. "Hi, Mama! We home," Emmy announced. Elizabeth rolled over and smiled.

"Morning girls. I missed you." They climbed up on the bed with everyone else.

"Missed you too Mama, but we had fun at Gamma and Papa's house."

"You did? What was so fun?"

"Gamma bought us dollies." Emmy said proudly.

"She did?" Elizabeth raised her eyebrows and winked at Charlotte.

"Yup and Gamma burned dinner, but Papa ate it anyway."

Elizabeth chuckled. "Well, that was nice of Papa."

"Then we played games and Papa told us a story and then we went to sleep."

"Well, it sounds like you had a wonderful time."

"Yup!"

"Who wants breakfast?"

"Me!"

"Ok, then after that, schoolwork."

Leesa and Livy stopped by at lunch for a visit. "Aunt Leesa! Yay! Can I hold Livy?"

"Sure Bug. You have to sit down though." Maddie climbed up on the couch and held her arms out for the baby.

Elizabeth sat next to her, willing to hold the baby the second Maddie was done. Drew wandered over to Leesa. "Up, ma." Leesa picked him up, kissing his cheeks.

"I missed you Drew."

"Mama? I want a baby like Livy to live with us."

"You have Will and Drew, Bug."

"No, I mean little."

"Maybe some day, Sweetie. It's takes time."

"How long?"

"If I only I could tell you. Sometimes awhile."

Will walked over and climbed up next to Elizabeth. "Mama?"

"Hi, buddy."

"Mama, Dew?"

"Drew?"

"Ya." He nodded and pointed at his brother cuddling with Leesa.

"He's cuddling with Aunt Leesa."

Will watched for a moment and then climbed onto Leesa's lap too.

"Oh boy. Both of you want to cuddle?"

"Welcome to my world," Elizabeth said with a chuckle.

Livy started to fidget so Elizabeth picked her up from Maddie and held her.

"Mama, I'm going to go play."

"Ok, Bug."

THAT AFTERNOON

Jack walked in and looked at the couch, smiling. Elizabeth was holding Livy and Leesa had both boys on her lap, sleeping soundly. Leesa was dozing too.

"Hi, sweetie."

"Hi Jack."

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure." Elizabeth got up with Livy and followed Jack in the kitchen.

"So, Tom and George met with me today."

"Oh right! How did that go?"

"Very well, actually. They didn't see any problems with the way I'm handling things here."

"That's great, Honey."

"I have a letter for you."

"You do? From whom?"

"Mom and Jake." He handed her the letter and then leaned down and kissed her. "I missed you today."

"Missed you too." He stared at her, formulating a plan to have the house to themselves in the very near future. She stared back, trying to figure out what was going on in his head. "What are you thinking about, Jack?"

"Oh nothing." He kissed her once more and smiled. "I'm going to go change."

"Ok." She smiled as he walked away. Knowing Jack, they would be getting some time alone soon, but how he would pull it off was going to be interesting.

A week later, the kids were all on their way to Gamma and Papa's to spend the night, even the twins. Elizabeth was baffled that they were completely alone, something they hadn't been since before the twins.

"Its so quiet, sweetie."

"Yeah. It's kinda nice, don't you think?" He wrapped his arm around her shoulder pulling her close.

"It is, but what if Drew needs me? I mean he still likes to nurse in the middle…"

"He will be just fine. Mom and Bill can handle whatever happens. It's only one night."

"They don't have a crib at their place…"

"Honey, please try to relax. We need to be alone. Dinner is almost ready, so let's try to enjoy the evening and forget about everything else." She settled back against his shoulder again and took a deep breath.

"I'm sorry. I will try. I'm just not used to being without the boys."

"I know." He kissed her temple and pulled her closer. "I love you."

"I love you." Elizabeth's stomach growled and they both heard it, causing them to chuckle.

"Let's go eat, my dear."

Elizabeth was quiet during dinner but happy. She missed the noise she had become accustomed to over the years. She missed the boys calling for her or Drew wanting to cuddle. She missed Emmy and Bug's questions and Caleb's kindness. However, she was very grateful to have time alone with Jack and she wanted to make sure that they had a nice time, so she forced herself to put them out of her mind and focus on her husband.

She stood up and held her hand out to Jack. "Where are we going?" he wondered.

"Living room. We can clean up later." He took her hand and she led him into the living room by the fire. "Dance with me?" She wrapped her arms around his waist and put her head on his shoulder as they started moving. "Thank you for dinner."

"Thank you for being such an amazing wife and mom." She looked into his eyes and immediately teared up.

AT THE AVERY'S

Charlotte paced the room with Drew, trying to get him to sleep. She figured he was missing his Mama and might not sleep very well away from home.

"Mama?" He kept whimpering her name, but kept his head on her shoulder. He was finally relaxing as she kept pacing. After ten more minutes he was finally asleep so she laid him on the bed between Caleb and Maddie. Emmy slept on the couch and Will was in her bed between Bill and herself.

"Finally asleep?" Bill whispered.

"Yes, he's very needy but stubborn, just like Jack was. It's bringing back memories."

Drew sat up and started whimpering. "I'll get him, Charlotte."

"Mama," he said as he started crying.

"Drew, come here." Bill picked him up and brought him to bed. Bill rocked him back and forth, rubbing his back, softly singing to him until he finally shut his eyes. "Let's just keep him here."

"Probably a good idea, or no one will get any sleep."

BACK AT THE THORNTONS

Elizabeth smiled as she laid in Jack's arms. He was softly snoring in her ear, his arm holding her tight against his chest. She remembered their wedding night and how he fell asleep just like this, holding her just this way and had ever since then. It had always felt like he was protecting her and it made her feel safe.

She slipped out of his grasp and put her robe on to go make tea. He opened his eyes and watched her walk out of the room.

She stood at the stove, waiting for the water to heat up, a smile plastered on her face.

"You look happy, Sweetheart," he said as he stood in the doorway watching her.

"I am. Very happy." He walked over and hugged her. "Thank you for tonight, Jack. It was just what I needed, to feel complete again. It's been a long time since I've felt that way."

"About a year?"

"Yeah. About a year." She turned away and poured two cups of tea and they went to sit on the couch by the fire.

"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. I wish I had never brought us here. I never wanted you to be unhappy."

"I'm not sorry."

"I don't understand. You just said you haven't felt complete or happy in a year. A year! How can you not regret coming here?"

"Jack." She took his hand and held it tightly, getting his attention. "Sweetie, I am with you and the children and Mom and Bill are here, and we are healthy and I have Leesa. I have so much and tonight you reminded me of that. It's like I'm finally awake after sleeping for a year."

He knew she had been struggling, and truth be told, so had he, but hearing her say how long it had been, made him very sad. He had promised himself to always make her happy and feel loved a long time before and apparently he hadn't succeeded. How had he failed so miserably? He got up and went outside to think.

She watched him leave the house. She had been trying to tell him it was a good thing, that she was happy, but apparently she had done the opposite. She finished her tea and waited for him. After a half hour, she went outside and found him on the front steps.

"Jack? Are you coming inside?"

"Not right now."

"Will you talk to me? Tell me why you're upset." She sat next to him, her head on his shoulder, her arm around his waist.

He sat for a moment and then spoke. "On the day we got engaged, I promised you and myself to always make you happy and to make sure you always know that I love you, but for a whole year, you have been miserable and unhappy and incomplete. You can't get that year back, Elizabeth. It's gone and I failed in my promise. I can't, for the life of me, figure out why you didn't just leave for Hope Valley when you had the chance."

"Ok, hang on. Look at me." He looked at her, tears in his eyes. "You're wrong, Love."

"You said…"

"Let me finish," she said gently. "On the day we got engaged, you promised to try to always make me happy and you did try, but I am also in control of my own happiness. Just because I haven't been, doesn't mean you failed. You do your best and you have always shown me how much you love me. I have never doubted it. What I have been trying to say tonight is thank you. I am happy now. I don't want to change a single thing in our whole relationship because everything we have been through has made us who we are, right now. Who I am right now is a strong, capable wife and mother who is completely in love with her husband. I want us to be together and that is why I didn't go back and I could see how much it would hurt you and the kids."

He smiled at her. "Completely in love with me?" he teased.

"Absolutely , completely." Elizabeth shivered and moved closer.

"Cold?"

"I'm not exactly dressed to be outside." She looked down at her robe and bare legs and laughed.

"Let's go back to bed." They stood up and walked inside.

"Honey, please don't blame yourself. I certainly don't blame you." He nodded. "Sweetheart?" She stopped and pulled him closer. "I'm happy. Do you believe me?" She smiled waiting for an answer.

"Yeah, I believe you."

"Are you sure?" He nodded and hugged her tighter.

"I love you so much, Elizabeth."

"I know."

Two months later, Jack walked in the door for dinner, leaning visitors on the porch. He had them stay outside for a moment so he could surprise Elizabeth. It was his anniversary present and he knew it was a good one.

"Elizabeth?"

"Hey, Sweetie. Dinner is almost ready. Can you go tell the kids for me?"

"Actually can you come with me for a moment?"

"Sure." She wiped her hands and followed him to the door.