A/N I really appreciate all the kind comments! It honestly still amazes me that there are so many of you who enjoy reading my stories, so I just want to thank you all for taking the time to read them!

And now back to J&E (&J)!

...

Jack and I slowly made our way down the gravel road toward the schoolhouse, the sun shining brightly overhead. He held a sleepy Jane against his chest.

"Are you ready for today?"

It was the beginning of September, time for the new school year to begin. "Yes. I've missed all of the children so much. I'm excited to see them every day again."

We scaled the front steps before Jack passed the baby to me. "I'm sure they're excited to see you, too." He opened the door for me.

"Hey, Janie, look what your dad made." I smiled at Jack and walked toward the cradle beside the desk that Jack had made specifically for the schoolhouse. I gently laid her in it, and she gurgled contentedly. "I think she likes it."

"Good." He knelt down and touched Jane's cheek. "I love you, Janie. I'll see you later. Be good for your mama" He stood back up and kissed me softly. "I'll come by after school to walk home with you. I love you."

"I love you, Jack." I kissed him one more time before he left.

I picked Jane back up and sat at my desk. Jack and I had gone back and forth about whether it would make sense for me to return to teaching so soon after Jane was born. We had finally decided that I could bring Jane with me to the schoolhouse during the day. She was a relatively calm baby, so we hoped this arrangement would work well. I would give up teaching for Jane if I had to, but I would rather find some way to take care of Jane and teach. We had talked to some people in town, and they were all supportive of our plan.

"Are you ready to spend the day with a class full of children?" She fussed. "Oh, it's not that bad, sweet girl. They'll love you."

I sang softly until she quieted down. She looked up at me with wide eyes, looking so much like Jack. There was no denying that she was his daughter.

The voices of children began to filter in from outside a few minutes later.

"Here we go, Janie." I returned Jane to the cradle and went out to the steps of the schoolhouse to ring the bell.

Once the children had settled in, I introduced them to Jane. Many of them had seen her throughout the summer, but it was different seeing her in the schoolhouse. I let them know that she would be staying in the classroom with us most days. Jane smiled as she looked around at the faces of all the students.

I hoped that she would stay calm throughout the day. Although many people had offered to watch her while I was at school, I wasn't ready to spend that much time away from her.

She slept in the cradle while I did arithmetic and spelling lessons with the children. I dismissed the children for a long recess and lunch break when Jane grew fussy. After I fed and changed her, I sat on the steps of the schoolhouse, situating her in my lap so she could watch the children play.

I smoothed down the fine hair on her head. "Are you liking school, Janie?"

She sneezed in response.

"Oh, bless you." I laughed, wiping her nose with my handkerchief.

Opal skipped over and sat beside me. "Mrs. Thornton, what are we doing after recess?"

I shifted Jane in my lap. "I have a special story that I thought I'd read to all of you."

Her face lit up. "I like when you read stories to us. Do you read stories to Jane?" She reached her hand out, and the baby grabbed her finger. She giggled.

I nodded. "Mountie Jack and I both do. She especially likes when Mountie Jack tells her stories and when he sings to her."

"Mountie Jack tells really good stories."

"He does," I agreed, thinking about all the stories he told Jane before she was even born.

Opal touched Jane's cheek, looking sad. "I wish I had a baby sister."

"Well, you can come play with Jane sometimes. She can be like your baby sister."

She grinned. "Maybe I can stay at your house again!"

"Maybe. We'll have to talk to your parents first."

Jane smiled as Opal cooed and talked softly to her. It melted my heart to see how loved Jane was by everyone in the town. I couldn't imagine a better place to raise her.

Philip ran up and stood at the base of the stairs. "Opal! Come back and play with us!"

She hopped down the steps and took his hand as they ran off to join the rest of the children.

I moved Jane to my shoulder. "What do you think of those two, Janie? Aren't they sweet?"

She blinked sleepily and began to fuss, clearly ready for another nap.

"I hope you have a friend like that someday." I rubbed her back as her eyelids grew heavier. She finally fell asleep, just in time for me to call the children back into the classroom.

...

"Okay, children. To end the day, we're going to read a poem together."

There was a collective groan from the students. Poetry definitely was not a favorite subject of theirs.

I laughed. "Oh, it won't be that bad. Besides, I might have a surprise for all of you after we discuss the poem."

"What's the surprise?"

"Well, Robert, if I told you all now, it wouldn't be a surprise." I sat down in front of the desk, sitting Jane up in my lap. "Now, everyone turn to page seven, and we're going to take turns reading lines from Casey at the Bat."

For the next several minutes, we went around the room, giving each of the children the chance to read a few lines of the poem aloud.

After a few moments of discussion, Cody raised his hand.

"Mrs. Thornton, what's the surprise?"

I smiled. "The poem was a hint about the surprise, which is that we're going to hold another baseball game next weekend." Excited chatter sounded around the room. "Constable Thornton and Mr. Coulter have agreed to coach the teams. They'll both be here tomorrow to start working with all of you. Okay, class dismissed."

A few minutes after the last of the students left, Jack appeared in the doorway, a grin on his face.

"What?" I looked at him curiously.

"Nothing. You're just so beautiful."

"I don't feel beautiful right now. I feel exhausted." I peeked under the blanket, checking on Jane as she ate. "I forgot how tiring teaching is."

"You're always beautiful." He put his hands on my shoulders and kissed me gently. "So, other than being exhausting, how did today go?"

"It went really well. The children enjoyed having Jane there, and she hardly fussed at all."

He sat on the edge of the desk. "So you think this arrangement will work? Having Jane in the classroom all day?"

I nodded. "For now, at least. We may have to figure something else out when she gets a little older and wants to be out of the cradle."

"Well, we'll make that decision when we get there."

"I don't like to think about the day when I won't have her with me all the time."

"That day will come eventually." He touched my cheek.

"I know." I sighed as I checked on Jane again. "Oh, sweet Janie. I'm so glad you like being here with me." She looked up at me and smiled. "All done?"

I passed her to Jack, and he burped her while I collected all of my things. He shifted Jane into one arm and held out the other for me.

I grabbed my basket and linked my arm with his. "Oh, the children are so excited about the baseball game."

He smiled. "Good. I'm excited, too."

"I hope you were expecting to have Opal as your assistant coach again. I think she'll be heartbroken if you don't choose her."

"I'd love to have Opal as my assistant coach again." He slowed his pace as we neared the house. "It won't be long now, and Jane can be my assistant coach."

"Jack Thornton! She's only three months old. Don't try to make her grow up so quickly."

He smiled timidly. "Sorry. I really am enjoying the baby stage, but I'm excited to be able to teach her to play baseball and fish and paint. Besides, if I remember correctly, you were the one talking about her running around the school yard before she was even born."

"Well, I also thought she was a boy. Things change." I smirked.

...

"Jack, look at this." I handed him the paper I had been grading. "I asked the children to write a paragraph about their favorite part of the summer break."

A smile crept onto his face as he read the words on the page. Opal had written about the day she got to come over to our house to meet Jane. Beneath her paragraph, she had drawn a picture of herself standing beside me, Jack, and Jane.

"That's so sweet. She was so excited to meet her."

"She told me today that she wished she had a little sister. I told her she could pretend Jane was her sister."

Jack laughed softly. "Now she's going to want to come over here all the time."

"She already asked me if she can stay with us again. I might have to have another sleepover with the girls soon."

"When did you have one before?"

"When you were in the Northern Territories." I moved across the room and lifted Jane from the cradle as she started fussing, getting settled on the sofa to feed her. "Some of the girls got jealous that Opal was staying over here, so I had them over one night."

"That sounds like fun." He sat beside me, brushing his fingers against Jane's feet as she ate.

"It was. It kept me from worrying about you, at least for a little while." I smiled sadly, remembering how difficult it was to be so far from him.

He touched my cheek. "I love my job, but I hate that it means you're always worrying about me."

"I worry because I love you so much." I glanced down at my daughter. "Right, Janie? We love your dad so much that we can't help but worry about him when he isn't with us."

She looked up at my face while she ate, her tiny hand grasping the edge of my blouse.

"But I would rather worry about you every minute of every day than not have you in my life at all."

"Elizabeth Thornton. I don't even know what to say to that except that I love you so much." He leaned in and kissed me. "Hey, maybe we could organize another camping trip before it gets too cold. Then all the children could participate."

"That's a good idea. I'm sure they'd love that."

"And just think," he brushed the hair from my face and slid his hand to my waist, "this time, we can share a tent."

"Unless you decide it's a good idea to tell ghost stories again, and the boys all want to sleep in your tent."

He laughed. "I won't make that mistake again. It was hard enough letting you go to your own separate tent last time, and we weren't even engaged then. There's no way I'm letting my wife sleep alone in another tent, ten feet away from me."

"Good." I lifted Jane to my shoulder. "I'll talk with the children tomorrow and see what they think, although I'm fairly certain that they will love another camping trip."

...

Over the next week and a half, Jack and I settled into our new routine. Jane continued to come to the school with me every day. Jack would come after I dismissed the children and sit with me while I fed her. The three of us always walked home together. In the afternoons, Jack headed back into town for baseball practice with the children while I graded homework assignments.

Before we knew it, it was time for the game.

Abigail sat beside me in the stands, holding Jane to her chest. Jack and Lee huddled up with their respective teams, trying to get them hyped up before the game started. The children ran out on the field, taking their places. Cody waved to Abigail from the pitcher's mound. She grinned and waved back.

"Just think, pretty soon, little Miss Jane will be out there playing, too."

"You and Jack are both trying to make her grow up too fast." I laughed softly. "I just want her to stay a baby forever. I know she's going to get older, but I'm just really loving this stage. She's such a sweet little baby." I reached over and touched her cheek.

"She really is. You and Jack really lucked out with her. I don't know that I've ever met a baby so content before." She rubbed Jane's back as she started to fall asleep. "And as for not wanting her to grow up, you'll find new things to love in every stage of her life, trust me."

I smiled. "For now, I'm just enjoying every minute with her."

Jack glanced up from the field every few minutes throughout the game, grinning at me and Jane. I could tell he was having as much fun as the children—if not more.

The two teams were neck and neck for most of the game. In the last inning, Philip caught the ball, resulting in the third out for the opposing team. The children ran onto the field to congratulate him; Opal threw her little arms around him.

Though Lee's team had lost, they still cheered. They were excited for their friends and happy that they all had fun playing together.

Jack pulled me around to the back of Abigail's, out of sight of everyone else. He kissed me deeply. "I've wanted to do that all day. I love you, Elizabeth."

I smiled and kissed him again. "I love you, Jack."