Elizabeth walked into Abigail's Café to get ready for their dinner party. Jack was just as excited as she was to share their great news with all their friends and tonight was the night.

Abigail was standing at her table, forming the last of the bread dough into balls for dinner rolls. "Elizabeth, so good to see you. I hardly ever see you around town anymore lately." She winked at Elizabeth, knowing full well why she hadn't seen much of her friend.

Elizabeth blushed and walked over to help with dinner. "Thank you for helping us with our dinner party tonight and for allowing us to have it here. Our little house just isn't big enough for this."

"It's no problem, Elizabeth. You know I would do anything for you and Jack." Abigail moved the dough near the stove to let the rolls finish rising. "Do you know when your house will be done?"

"Jack went up yesterday to check things out. There was only a small amount of progress done while he was away so now that he's back, things should start progressing fairly quickly. "

"How exciting." Abigail pulled a cake from the oven and put the rolls in. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I am much better now. It was really just that one morning that was pretty bad."

"That's great, Elizabeth. But I was referring to emotionally. You had a couple pretty rough days in there with thinking Jack had been killed and then him showing up. I know how I felt when I found out my Noah and Peter had died. I was a wreck."

"It was very hard. Even the day after Jack came back, I had a breakdown when he left and came into town and I was home alone. Rosemary just happened show up and helped me through it. I just had to work through everything and convince myself that it wasn't a dream, that Jack really was back. But everything is great now and we can finally start our life together."

"I'm so happy for you, Elizabeth. I know you both waited so long for this. Well, the entire town waited so long for this." They both laughed and continued on with the preparations.

Abigail and Elizabeth continued to work on dinner while they caught up on all the gossip and news of Hope Valley. Jack arrived and pitched in to help where he could. The chicken was roasted, the beans were cooking on the stove, the dinner rolls were almost done and Abigail was putting the finishing touches on her chocolate cake.

It was now time for their party and their friends were arriving. Rosemary and Lee were of course the first to arrive. Soon followed by Bill, Frank, Florence, Molly and Hickam. By the time the food was ready and tables were set, Clara, Jesse, Carson and Faith, along with about a dozen other friends had all arrived. The little café was packed and buzzing with conversation. After everyone seemed satisfied and full from their meal, Jack gave Elizabeth a wink and they both stood.

"First I would like to thank everyone of you for joining us tonight. After the events of last week, it is wonderful to be able to laugh and visit with all our friends." Jack gave Elizabeth a quick look and a gentle squeeze to her hand. "That being said, Elizabeth and I have some big news that we would like to share with all of you. Elizabeth." Jack looked at his wife and smiled, letting her be the one to share the news.

"Well, everyone. In about seven months, we will be welcoming another little Thornton into Hope Valley."

Rosemary, Abigail and several other women all squealed and ran to Elizabeth to congratulate her. The men all converged around Jack, shaking his hand and slapping him on the back.

"Congratulations, Buddy."

"Way to go, man."

"This is wonderful news."

"We're so happy for you."

Everyone was elated for Jack and Elizabeth. The entire town had watched the love blossom between them, seen them through their ups and downs, watched their love grow. Jack and Elizabeth had become the heart of Hope Valley and their dreams were finally becoming a reality.

Bill cleared his throat to get everyone's attention. "If everyone could please grab a glass and raise them for a toast. Jack, Elizabeth, you have both become like family to me. Jack, my friend, my heart broke last week when we got the news of your death. You have become like a son to me and I was going to really miss having you around as my friend too. And my heart broke for Elizabeth. You two are meant to be together and I think we all saw it before you did." There were chuckles and sniffs coming from around the room. "Elizabeth, you have become the daughter that I never had: the family that I never knew I needed." Tears were falling down Elizabeth's cheeks. "Here's to you both. Cheers to eternal love, family bonds and new life. Congratulations!"

"Here, here"

Everyone raised their glasses and with tear filled eyes they toasted to the new life that was coming to Hope Valley.