Elizabeth stirred a pot of spaghetti at the stove, smiling as she watched her children from the window. The girls were teaching Jack how to skip. He seemed to be loving it, giggling every time one of his sisters leapt up in the air on one leg. His attempts to mimic them were choppy, but every so often he did it right, and Opal and Allie praised him highly for it.

She heard Nathan walk into the kitchen and turned her head as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and kissed her cheek. He stood there for a moment just holding her. Elizabeth felt safe and loved in his arms. After a moment he stepped up next to her and started pulled plates and cups from the cupboards. They had settled into a suppertime routine; while she finished cooking the food, Nathan would set the table and pour milk for everyone. Sometimes they would switch roles; he would do the cooking while she set the table. It was a part of married life she hadn't been able to experience before, and she liked it very much.

"How were the girls at school today?" Nathan asked as he poured milk into cups.

"As good as always," Elizabeth replied with a smile. "I assigned teams to research and report on different major cities throughout the world, purposefully putting Allie and Opal on separate teams to see how they would react. They were perfectly happy with the arrangement. Opal is working with Robert, and Allie is working with Harper. They were all getting very excited about their research."

"That sounds fun," Nathan said. "What cities did they choose?"

"Opal and Robert chose Moscow, and Allie and Harper chose Dublin."

"Wow," Nathan said. "Those are good cities. I'm sure they'll have lots to research. Do they have to present on it when they're done?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said. "I think it will be good for all the children to hear about the cultures, traditions, and history of different places."

"I can't wait to hear about it," Nathan replied with a smile, replacing the milk jug in the icebox. "The girls get so animated when they're excited." He looked out the window, observing the kids. "Like right now. All three of them are laughing and having such fun."

Elizabeth peered over his shoulder, taking in the scene. She smiled, loving the fact that they got along so well. It hadn't been all easy in the past month and a half - sometimes the girls had squabbles or got annoyed with Jack or with each other, but they always worked it out in the end, usually with guidance from Elizabeth or Nathan.

"They're good kids," she said with a fond smile. "We are blessed to have them." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "And each other."

"I couldn't agree more," Nathan said, wrapping an arm around Elizabeth. "All of you light up my life in ways I never could have imagined."

Elizabeth smiled. "I could say the same thing," she said, reaching up to kiss him. At that moment, the kids came racing into the kitchen. They skidded to a stop when they saw their parents kissing. Opal wrinkled her nose and let out an "eww," while Allie giggled. Nathan and Elizabeth broke apart, staring at the children in surprise.

Nathan looked out the window, then back to the three kids. "How did you get in here so fast?" he asked, unable to hide the shock in his voice.

Allie shrugged. "We're always fast," she said. "We thought it must be time for supper, and we're hungry."

"Hun'gee!" Jack agreed, clambering up into his booster chair at the table with some help from Opal.

Elizabeth laughed. "You're right about it being time for supper," she said. "But before we eat, the three of you need to wash your hands."

By the time all three children had washed and sat down, Elizabeth had the food served and ready to go. They bowed their heads to bless the food, then started eating.

"Yum!" Opal said, slurping some spaghetti. "This is good, Mom!"

"Sure is," Allie said with a nod. "Spaghetti is my favorite." Little Jack slurped some noodles and grinned in agreement, red sauce already coating his lips and chin. Elizabeth smiled at him and wiped his face with a napkin.

There was much laughter and conversation throughout suppertime. Elizabeth felt joy in her heart as she interacted with her family members, relishing the time together. As the meal was coming to an end, Allie took her final sip of milk, then looked at Elizabeth and Nathan. "Mom, Dad, we've been thinking," she said, looking at Opal. "With this project that Mom assigned at school, we thought it would be fun to visit a major city this summer. Since we won't be in school, we figured it would be the perfect time to go."

Nathan raised a brow. "Is that so?" The girls nodded in unison, excitement lighting their faces. "And where exactly is it that you would like to go?" Nathan continued.

"New York City!" they exclaimed in unison.

Elizabeth's eyes lit up. "Oh, that would be so much fun!" she said. "You want us to take a family trip there?"

"Yes!" Opal said. "It looks amazing! We did some research on it at the library."

"That's impressive," Nathan said. "Good job doing your research, girls." They beamed at him. Nathan glanced at Elizabeth. "Mom and I will talk about it. Is that okay?"

"Of course," Allie said. She grinned. "We know it's a long shot, but we figured it couldn't hurt to ask!" She set her fork down. "May we be excused?" she asked.

"Of course," Elizabeth said, watching as the girls hopped out of their chairs and scampered up the stairs to their room.

Nathan chuckled, carrying some dishes to the sink. "I wish I had their energy," he said.

Elizabeth agreed, pulling Jack from his chair. "Children certainly have a lot of it," she said. "Oh my goodness, young man, you have sauce all over you!" she exclaimed to Jack. He laughed and clapped his hands. Elizabeth turned to Nathan. "I'm going to give Jack a bath and then put him to bed," she said.

"Okay," Nathan replied. He took Jack from her arms and gave him a goodnight hug and a kiss on the forehead. "Goodnight, little man," he said.

Jack put a hand on Nathan's face, grinning. "'Night, Dada," he said, patting Nathan's cheek. Nathan smiled and set him on the ground. Elizabeth took Jack's hand and pointed to Nathan's shirt. "He got sauce all over you too," she said with a giggle.

Nathan wiped at it with a towel, then shrugged. "Oh well," he said with a smile. "I guess that comes with being a dad. I can remember Allie getting food all over me a time or two when she was little."

Elizabeth smiled at the thought of Nathan with little Allie. Nathan continued to clear the table. "I'll do the dishes while you get Jack bathed," he said.

"Thank you," Elizabeth said, heading for the stairs. "I don't think we'll be too long."

She gave Jack a bath, letting him splash around for a bit. He loved water and made lots of happy toddler noises as he flopped around in the shallow water. "Alright, baby, time to come out," Elizabeth said, lifting him from the tub and wrapping him in a warm towel. She dried him off then carried him to his room, wrapped snugly in the towel. She dressed him in his nightclothes, then set him on his feet. "Pick out a story, Jack," she said, sitting in the rocking chair next to his toddler bed. It was one of the pieces of furniture Nathan had made for their home. Little Jack loved it.

He pulled a book from the bookshelf and toddled over to his mother, reaching his arms up to her. She set him on her lap. "Let's see," she said, looking at the book he chose. "The Night Before Christmas?" she laughed. She chucked Jack lightly under the chin. "Silly boy, it's late May. Christmas is not for a long time!"

"Chris'mas sto'y," Jack said stubbornly, looking up at Elizabeth with entreating eyes. "P'ease, Mama?"

Elizabeth's heart melted. "I can't say no to that," she said with a smile, opening the book. "Let's read. 'T'was the night before Christmas'…"

When they had finished the story, little Jack was still awake but blinking slowly, a sure sign he was ready for sleep. Elizabeth tucked the book back into its place, then gently set her son on his bed. Covering him with the blankets, she leaned down to kiss his cheek. His blue eyes were slowly closing, and she touched his cheek. "Goodnight, sweetheart. I love you."

"Love you," Jack murmured, rolling to his side and slipping his thumb into his mouth. Within moments he was sound asleep.

Elizabeth walked lightly to the door and shut it halfway. She could hear voices from the living room, and she walked downstairs to investigate. She stopped in her tracks when she saw the scene in front of her.

Nathan was sitting on the settee with Allie and Opal on either side. Their backs were to Elizabeth. Each girl was snuggled close to him as he read to them. It took Elizabeth a moment to realize that Nathan was reading Little Women, no doubt at the request of Opal, who loved the story. She smiled to herself as she took in the sweet scene. Nathan didn't particularly like romance stories, but he loved his girls and would do anything for them. Even read Little Women.

He finished a chapter, then shut the book. "I think that does it for tonight," he said. "We'll pick it up again tomorrow and see what the March sisters are up to this time."

Opal giggled. "Thanks, Dad," she said. "I love this story."

"How fun would it be one of four sisters?" Allie said. She looked up at Nathan. "When are you and Mom going to have a baby? I want at least two more sisters."

"And some brothers too," Opal chimed in. "Especially for little Jack."

Nathan laughed, putting an arm around each of his daughters. "These things take time," he said. Elizabeth could hear the smile in his voice. "Your mom and I will have more kids when God gives them to us."

"When will that be?" Opal asked, curiosity in her tone.

Nathan shook his head. "We don't know. We're open to new life whenever it may come."

"I hope it comes soon," Allie said decidedly. "I want lots of brothers and sisters!"

"Me too!" Opal said.

Elizabeth came forward, rounding the sette and sitting next to Allie. "How many is lots?" she asked.

"Hi Mom!" Allie said, giving her a hug. She beamed up at Elizabeth. "I think six," she said in response to her question.

"Six altogether?" Elizabeth asked, raising a brow.

Allie shook her head. "Six more," she said.

"Nine kids total?" Nathan said, sounding slightly in shock. "That's a lot!"

Allie shrugged. "It would be fun!" she said. "Besides, there would always be someone for us to play with."

"Yeah," Opal said. "We have a big house, so we have lots of room."

"True," Elizabeth said slowly. She put an arm around Allie. "Why don't we start with one and go from there?"

"Can it be a sister first?" Allie asked. "We already have a little brother."

Elizabeth laughed. "That's not exactly up to us," she said. "It'll be what it'll be."

"Okay," Allie sighed. "But I do want a little sister."

"We'll see what happens," Nathan said. He stood. "Let's go upstairs, girls. I'll tuck you in."

Allie hugged Elizabeth and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Opal followed suit. "Goodnight, Mom," they said with angelic smiles.

Elizabeth squeezed their hands. "Goodnight, girls," she said. "Sleep well." As they went upstairs, she picked up a book and started reading. Within ten minutes, Nathan came back down the stairs.

"They wanted me to make up a story," he said, sitting next to Elizabeth and pulling his own book from the shelf. "This is becoming a regular occurrence."

"That's wonderful," Elizabeth said. "I love that you make up stories for them before they go to sleep."

"I'm getting better at it," Nathan admitted. "The first few times I stumbled through the stories and sounded silly. I'm surprised the girls kept asking me to tell them."

"They love it," Elizabeth said. "And I suspect they enjoy spending quality time with their new daddy."

Nathan smiled, taking Elizabeth's hand and pressing it to his lips. They spent the next half hour reading side by side, enjoying just being in each other's presence. After a while, Elizabeth reached a good stopping point. She put the book down as Nathan shut his. Turning to him, she returned to a topic from dinner. "What do you think about the girls' idea for this summer?" she asked.

"You mean New York City?" Nathan said. "I don't know. I've never been there, though I have heard a lot about it." He raised his brows. "What do you think?"

"I think it would be a lot of fun to go as a family," Elizabeth said. She laughed wryly. "Though I'm sure Rosemary would insist on coming too."

"That goes without saying," Nathan said with a smile. "She'd probably try to get a guest appearance on Broadway while we were there."

"Maybe we should think about this seriously," Elizabeth said. "The girls and I don't have to be at school over the summer, and since you are your own boss you could take some time off work. And maybe we do ask Lee and Rosemary to come as well. This would be a once in a lifetime opportunity of all of us."

"It is a definite possibility," Nathan said. "And now that railroads are all over, it would be relatively easy to get there." He thought for a moment, looking like he was warming to the idea. "Why don't we talk to the Coulters tomorrow and see what they think? And that will give us more time to think about it too."

"Good idea," Elizabeth said. She yawned, blinking slowly, and leaned her head on Nathan's shoulder. "I think I'm just going to rest here for a moment," she said, fighting the sleep that suddenly came over her. "I just got very tired."

"You've been more tired lately," Nathan said, sounding a little concerned. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Mmhmm," Elizabeth said. "I'm sure it's just the stress of the end of the school year coming up. That always seems to make me tired."

"If you're sure," Nathan said, sounding a little doubtful.

"I'm fine, Nathan," Elizabeth said, closing her eyes and moving her cheek to a more comfortable spot on his shoulder. If he said anything else, she didn't hear it. She drifted slowly into sleep, warm and comforted by Nathan's strong presence.