December turned into January. Elizabeth and Jack spent a wonderful Christmas together. They had dinner at the Thatcher home along with Julie and her new boyfriend, who was none other than Tom Thornton. They had realized at the wedding of their older siblings that they had a lot in common and began dating. Elizabeth and Jack were surprised at first but were happy for Julie and Tom. Willian was very happy for them too. While a lot of what he did when he had the tumor was fuzzy, he remembered how he had treated his younger daughters about being nurses. He told them both he was proud of what they were doing with their lives. The sisters hugged him tightly and they all cried.
It was now the middle of January and Elizabeth had an appointment for an ultrasound to check on the growth of the baby and to find out the gender. Jack was going with her, having never missed an appointment; he would preferred waiting until the baby was born to find out the gender but Elizabeth would be able to know by reading the scan. In exchange for finding out the sex now, Elizabeth agreed to let Jack decorate the nursery by himself and let him surprise her. He had already started by painting the walls in neutral beige. They had both taken the day off of work so they could celebrate and maybe start some shopping for the nursery and fill out a baby registry.
The night before the appointment, Jack and Elizabeth were lying in bed together talking. Jack had his hand on her belly. She had felt the baby move for the first time a few weeks back but Jack had yet to experience it. It had felt like butterflies were in her stomach when she felt it. A couple of days ago she felt the first kick, right into her ribs. She had been at work when it happened. She had taken a minute to text Jack to let him. He was so excited that when he returned home that night, he immediately put his hands on her belly, not even taking off his coat or kissing her. She teased him about that one. Unfortunately she only seemed to be experiencing the kicking when she and Jack were not together.
As they were cuddling together, she finally felt a good kick and squealed. "Jack, did you feel that?"
Jack sat there in shock, with an expression of awe on his face. "Oh my goodness! That was amazing!" He moved down towards her belly and kissed it. "Hi, Baby Thornton. It's Daddy! I am so happy that I felt you move in Mommy's tummy. I can't wait until you get here but for now, stay nice and warm inside Mommy." He felt tears running down his face and when he looked at Elizabeth, she was crying too. He moved back up towards her and pulled her into his arms, where they cried happy tears together.
"Jack, what do you hope the baby is going to be? A boy or a girl?"
"What I hope is that we have a healthy baby and that you have an easy delivery. That said, I have been having this dream lately of a little girl who has her mother's eyes and dark curly hair, but if we have a boy I would be just as happy and proud."
"Jack, that is so sweet. My intuition is telling me the baby is a girl but I will also love a boy the same way."
"Have I ever told you about my paternal great-grandfather?"
"Not that I can recall. Why?"
"This is not something I have dreamed but it is something I always imagined I would do if I ever had a son. It was something I did as a boy. My great grandfather was born in Canada and he became a Mountie in Vancouver. He met an American woman there who was on vacation with her family and they fell in love. They got married and had two children, a boy, my grandfather and a girl. When Grandpa was 10, my maternal great-grandmother passed away. My great-grandfather took her death hard; my grandparents decided to move to the States, to Goffstown, NH to help out. Great-grandfather became a private investigator but he never forgot his Canadian roots and his time as a Mountie. He brought his hat and red serge with him and there are some pictures of my grandfather playing with the hat."
"That sounds so cute." Elizabeth said.
"Grandpa decided he wanted to become a police officer, thus continuing the family tradition of being in law enforcement. When he married and my father was born, he used to tell my dad stories from both Canada and New Hampshire and he showed my dad the hat and serge. There are also pictures of Dad playing with the hat. Dad then passed the tradition down to me."
"I would love to see any pictures of you playing with the hat."
"I don't have any but I will ask my mom to send some, along with the hat and serge. I have always wanted to pass the tradition down to my son or daughter. A daughter can become a cop if that's what she wants." He looked over at Elizabeth and she was crying again. "Are you ok? Does that frighten you, having our daughter become a cop?"
"No, well yes it does but I worry about you when you are on the job so I would do the same for our children if they wanted to be a cop. I am just so amazed by the story you told. The love you showed when talking about your family and our kids." She snuggled closer to him. "I love you, Jack and you are going to be a great father."
Jack buried his face in her hair, breathing in her shampoo. "I love you, too Sweetheart. I have no doubt that you will be the best mother there is." They kissed and Jack brought his hand back to her belly. He felt a kick. "We love you too, Baby."
Elizabeth yawned. She was getting tired but she didn't want this moment to end. She knew that she better listen to her body and get some rest. "I'm sorry, Jack but I am so tired."
"No need to apologize. You need your rest. We have all day tomorrow to spend together." Jack turned out the light and kissed her goodnight. Then he wrapped his arms around her and laid his head on his pillow. Elizabeth was already sleeping; he could hear her even breathing. He stayed awake for a while thinking about the baby and the appointment they had tomorrow. Even though he had initially wanted to wait until the baby was born to find out the sex, he found himself getting excited that they would find out in just a few short hours. Would the baby be a girl like in his dream or would it be a boy who he would tell the stories of his family and let him play with the Mountie hat? He fell asleep with those thoughts on his mind.
Jack paced the exam room waiting for the doctor to come in for the ultrasound. Elizabeth's OB, Dr. Susan Brady, always liked to do the scans herself for hospital employees. She was running a few minutes behind because of an emergency C-section. Jack was so anxious for her to get there that he couldn't calm down.
"For heaven's sakes, Jack! Please sit down. You are making me nervous and jumpy with your pacing. I am uncomfortable as it is." She told him, referring to the water she had to drink for the ultrasound.
Jack looked over at Elizabeth and felt a little guilty. She was growing and nurturing their baby, keeping him or her warm inside her womb and all he could do today was drive her crazy. He saw her drinking the water and knew she must be thinking how all she wanted to do was use the bathroom. He walked over to her and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart. I didn't realize I would be this anxious to find out gender."
"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just want Sara to get here and do the scan so I can go to the bathroom." She groaned. "I can't believe I just said that. Here we are about to see our baby and all I can think about it the bathroom."
"Let me see if I can get your mind on something else." He began massaging her neck and shoulders. He smiled when she let out a satisfied moan. He saw that she had closed her eyes. He moved down to her arm and hand, working out the knots and kinks he felt. He was about to move to the other side of the exam table to massage her other arm when he heard a knock on the door and he saw it open.
"Good morning, Elizabeth and Jack. Sorry I was late."
"That's ok, Sarah. I understand about emergencies." Elizabeth replied.
"That's nice of you to say when I know you must not be too comfortable. So without further ado, I am going to start your scan." She pulled the machine over towards the exam table. "Ok, Elizabeth. Please pull up your shirt for me. Remember, the gel will be a little cold."
Elizabeth lifted her shirt up, then took Jack's hand. She squeezed it and looked up at him. He looked down and they smiled at each other. This moment was finally here. They both turned their heads towards the ultrasound and waited for Sarah to bring up the first image. They both held their breaths and then finally they saw the baby. Their baby. Jack leaned down towards Elizabeth and kissed her, tears falling down their faces.
"Oh, Jack! Look! There's our little one!"
Jack couldn't speak. He was so amazed by the image. He had gone to her first one but their child hadn't yet taken the shape of a baby. Now the baby could clearly be recognized as one. "Beautiful." He finally choked out.
Sarah smiled at the happy parents-to-be. Then she looked back at the scan and noticed the baby was being cooperative and she could clearly make out the gender. She glanced towards Elizabeth to see if she had picked up on the sex. She saw the moment Elizabeth figured it out. Her face lit up like a Christmas tree.
"Jack! It's a girl. We are having a girl!" Elizabeth said excitedly.
"What? We are?" Jack looked at the picture, then down at Elizabeth's belly. He moved so he was leaning down and kissed her belly. "Hi, Baby Girl! I'm your daddy. I love you so much." He let his hand linger and he immediately felt a kick. He looked at Elizabeth and they both laughed as joyous tears streamed down their faces.
Sarah moved the wand a few more times, getting images and checking out the progress the baby had made. She put the wand down and pressed a button on the machine to print pictures. She grabbed some tissues and wiped the gel off Elizabeth's abdomen. "Here are some pictures for you and your families." She handed them to Jack before turning back to her patient. "Elizabeth, you can go to the restroom now and when you are finished, both of you come to my office."
"Thank you, Sarah." The doctor left the room and Jack pulled his eyes away from the pictures to help Elizabeth down. She rushed to the bathroom. A few minutes later, she emerged feeling much better. "I'm all set, Jack. Let's go see Sarah now." She reached out to Jack so she could take his hand.
"One moment, Sweetheart." He took her hand and gently pulled her into his embrace. "I have been staring at the pictures and I can't get over how beautiful our daughter is. I think she is going to look just like you." He pulled away slight to put a trail of kisses on her face. Elizabeth giggled, then moaned softly. "I'm so glad I found out the gender. I have some ideas on what I want to do for her nursery and I want you to help too."
"You do? You want to forget our deal?"
"Yes. I have been doing a lot of thinking about it and we still have a lot of things to be surprised about when she is born. Like her hair and eye color. We should decorate the nursery together. Just as long as you let me handle anything that is heavy."
"I will, I promise." She stood on her tip toes and gave him a kiss. "Let's go talk to Sarah and then maybe we could go get some breakfast as the café. I'm starving." She grinned at him, her blue eyes sparkling.
Jack took her hand. "Sounds like a good plan and then after we can go start looking at baby stuff." They walked down the hall to Sarah office. The door was ajar but Jack knocked anyway.
"Hi there, happy parents-to-be." She said as she motioned for them to come in and sit down. "Everything is looking good with baby girl Thornton. I wanted to talk to you Elizabeth, about how things are going when you work. It won't be long before I am going to suggest you be off your feet more during the day."
"I am one step ahead of you on that, Sarah. I already had a meeting with Dr. Hammond and Ellie. I have already scaled back on what cases I take. I usually don't take any big traumas unless they desperately need my help. I am mostly taking minor cases, like sprained ankles and migraine headaches. Things that won't cause me or the baby any harm. I am also spending about half my day doing paperwork and training Rosemary to take over the nurse manager duties while I am on maternity leave. I am also only scheduling 8 hour days for myself." She glanced towards Jack and noticed he was staring at her. She had only told him she wasn't on her feet as much anymore, as it was something he had expressed concern about early on in the pregnancy.
"That's wonderful, Elizabeth. I am glad you are being proactive and have plans set in place. As long as you keep that plan in motion, I don't see any reason you can't continue nursing for the time being. We will see how things are going for you at our next appointment before we make any changes about work but of course if something changes, come see me immediately. "
"I will."
"Unless there is anything else, I will see you around the hospital and of course at your next appointment."
"Thank you, Sarah."
"Yes, thank you." Jack said as he helped Elizabeth to her feet.
They left the hospital and made their way over to the café. Jack was silent most of the way there. He just sat there, gazing at the picture of their baby girl. Every once in a while he would squeeze Elizabeth's hand or lean over to give her a kiss. Jack slipped his arm around her and leaned in for a deeper kiss. "I love you and our baby so much." He whispered. "Thank you for all that you are doing at work to make sure she stays safe."
Elizabeth looked at his face and noticed he had tears in his eyes. One slipped down his cheek and she wiped it away. "Thank you for loving me and our baby. Thank you for being kind and supportive of me when it comes to my career."
"Of course I would. Being a nurse is part of who you are, of who I fell in love with. Taking that away from you would be taking away one of the things I love most about you. How caring you are with your patients."
Elizabeth was trying hard to stop the tears that were threatening to fall. She didn't want to become an emotional basket case while they were riding the subway. She buried her head into his chest. "I love you so much, Jack." She whispered.
Jack pulled her even closer to him. "I love you, too. With all my heart until the day I leave this earth." They held each other until it was time to get off the subway. Jack helped her down, making sure she didn't trip or fall. Then he put his arm around her waist as they walked to the café. "Are you going to tell Abigail or did you want to wait until we tell our families?"
"Abigail is going to know the minute she looks at us. I know she won't say anything and she is like family to me. So yes, I am going to tell her. I spoke to Mom yesterday and she invited us to come for dinner tomorrow night. They are leaving for London next week to be with Viola when she has her baby so they wanted to see us and Julie and Tom. I asked her if we could invite your mom because I was hoping the baby would be cooperative today and we would tell them if our baby is a boy or a girl." She put a hand on her belly and felt a kick against her ribs.
"Thank you for thinking of my mother. I can't wait to see Mom's face when she finds out it's a girl. She was insisting the baby would be a son because boys tend to run in our family but don't worry. She will be just as happy we are having a girl."
Elizabeth giggled. "I'm not worried. Even if you hadn't told that, I would know Charlotte would be happy we are having a daughter. A baby is a blessing no matter then gender." She paused just outside the café and gave Jack another quick kiss. He opened the door and followed her inside. "Good morning, Abigail!" Elizabeth called over to her friend.
Abigail looked up from the counter where she had been totaling some receipts. "Hi Elizabeth and Jack. No work today?" She motioned for them to sit down at a booth and she pulled a chair over to join them. The café was nearly empty so she had a few minutes to sit and talk to them.
"No work. We just came from a doctor's appointment." Elizabeth told her, then nodded her head at Jack. He knew what she wanted and pulled out one of the ultrasound pictures he had put in his pocket.
"How are things going?" Abigail inquired.
"Everything is going fine. She is growing just as she should be." Elizabeth carefully watched her friend's face to see if she caught on.
"What? Did you say 'she'?"
"Yes, our baby is a girl!"
Abigail slid into the booth next to Elizabeth and gave her a big hug. Then she stood up and went to Jack, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'm so happy for you. Of course I would have been happy if they baby was a boy too."
"Thank you." Elizabeth said. "Would you like to see the ultrasound picture of her?"
"Of course I would." Jack handed her the picture. "I am amazed at what modern medicine can do. She looks so beautiful!"
Jack proudly smiled. "She's gorgeous, just like her Mama."
"That she is." Abigail agreed and handed the picture back to the grinning dad-to-be. "Breakfast is on me today. What can I get you?"
Jack and Elizabeth exchanged glances. "You don't have to do that, Abigail." Elizabeth told her.
"I know I don't but I want to. Would you like some tea, Elizabeth?"
"Yes I would. Also a glass of orange juice."
"Coffee and juice, Jack?"
"Yes, thank you." Abigail left to get their drinks while they looked at the menu. They placed their order after Abigail returned with their drinks. More customers started to come in so Abigail didn't have time to sit with them.
"Jack what ideas do you have for the nursery? I was thinking about a Winnie the Pooh theme. I love Winnie the Pooh."
Jack looked at her, surprised. "You read my mind, Sweetheart. I was thinking Winnie the Pooh as well."
Elizabeth smiled at him. "That makes things easy." Probably the easiest thing to agree on for the baby's room. We have so much to get. Not just the furniture but other things as well. Like learning toys and clothes for those first few months. At least a lot of those things can go on the baby registry."
"That's true. Did you still want to start that today? It is your day off and I don't want you to exhaust yourself."
Elizabeth took Jack's hand in hers and smiled at him. She loved how he was always looking out for her, making sure she wasn't over doing things. "Jack, I promise to tell you when I start to feel tired and then we can go home."
Jack smiled back at her. "That's all I ask, Sweetheart." Just then, one of the waitresses brought their food to them. They sat quietly for a few minutes while they ate.
"Jack, we should start thinking of names now."
"Yes, we should. Do you have any thoughts?"
"I do. I love the names Alexandra and Lilyana I am just not sure if I want to use them together. Do you have any ideas?"
"I like Lilyana. How does Lilyana Elizabeth Thornton sound to you?"
Elizabeth teared up. "You want to name our baby girl after me?"
"I do. I am in awe of what you are doing for her and she isn't here yet. Once she is born, you will be nurturing her, making sure she gets all that she needs. You are so deserving of having her named after you." He reached across the table and wiped her tears away.
"Thank you, Jack. That means so much to me. Lilyana Elizabeth is beautiful. It's perfect."
"Then it's settled." He squeezed her hand. "Should we get going? I am getting excited about our shopping trip."
Elizabeth laughed, then grinned at him. "Yes, let's go."
Jack got up and went to her side to give her a hand getting up. He helped her put her coat on and then they walked over to say goodbye to Abigail. "Thanks for breakfast, Abigail. See you soon." Jack said.
"Enjoy the rest of your day!
"So where to, Elizabeth?"
"There is a store a couple of blocks from here that sells baby furniture that can grow with the baby. The crib can be turned into a toddler bed and then into a regular bed as the child grows. I thought that sounded like a great idea."
"I like it. Let's go."
After a short walk, they arrived at the store. Jack opened the door for her, then followed her in. They were immediately approached by a sales person. "Welcome! May I help you with something?"
"Yes." Elizabeth told her. "We are looking for baby furniture." She had unbuttoned her coat as they walked in and now she rubbed her belly.
"Congratulations! Come with me." The young woman started to the back of the store. "Here we are. I will let you browse for a bit but let me know if you have any questions. My name is Lily." She nodded her head and then walked away from them.
They looked at each other. "My goodness. I am feeling de ja vu." Jack said.
"What do you mean?" Elizabeth wondered.
"The woman who helped me pick out your engagement ring was named Beth. I took it as a sign that I was meant to purchase the ring at that store. Now we have a woman named Lily wanting to help us by our little Lily her furniture. It's fate."
Elizabeth felt more tears in her eyes. "It is fate." She gave him a warm hug. "Let's walk around separately, make notes on which ones we like, then show then to each other."
"Ok, Sweetheart." He kissed her, lingering for a moment on her lips and rested a hand on her belly, then he went in one direction to look at cribs.
Elizabeth watched him for a moment, feeling the love he had for her and their daughter. She then went off the other way and started browsing. She wasn't immediately impressed with what she saw. She wasn't sure what exactly she wanted but she wanted it to stand out to her. She wanted it to say "Lilyana wants me". Elizabeth was about to go find Jack and tell him she wanted to leave when her eye caught something. It was a beautiful light oak crib and next to it was the toddler bed that it could be turned into as the baby grew. As she got closer, she noticed the crib had little carvings in it of Bugs Bunny characters and the toddler bed next to it had Care Bears. She read the tag and discovered there were lots of things that could be carved into the wood. She read through the list until she found the one she wanted. She smiled and then turned to go get Jack. She found him looking at a crib almost the same color as the one she was looking at but it didn't have any carvings.
Jack looked up from the price tag and saw Elizabeth approaching him with a big grin on her face. He walked over to her and kissed her again. "You must have found something you liked."
"I did and I know you are going to agree with me. Come on." She grabbed his hand and quickly made her way back to the crib.
Jack looked it over and smiled at the Bugs Bunny carvings. "I like it. Did you want to change our theme to Looney Tunes?"
"No, Jack. Read the information tag." She watched his face while he was reading. She saw the exact moment when he read what was making her so excited.
"Winnie the Pooh. We can have them carve in Winnie, Tigger and their friends. It's perfect!" He took her in his arms and gave her a big hug. When he opened his eyes he saw the toddler bed. "We can have them do the carvings on the beds too?"
"Yes we can! And according to the tag we may be able to order a rocking chair with the carvings too. This is the set I would like to get! I feel like it's telling me Lilyana would love to have it."
"Me too. Let me go get Lily and see what we need to do to place the order."
A half an hour later, they left the store having put in the order for the crib, a rocking chair and a chest of drawers. Elizabeth was starting to get tired and true to her word, she told Jack. They went home and decided to relax in bed while browsing baby stores looking for Winnie the Pooh bedding and other things for the babies. Their day ended with Jack cooking dinner for her and the two of them cuddling while watching a movie. It was a perfect day.