Nathan was worried at first when he woke at dawn and Elizabeth was not beside him. Then he heard her downstairs talking to Julie.

"Allie is coming home from school tomorrow and the kids can't wait. Jack keeps wanting to know when she can take him fishing," Elizabeth said.

"She's an amazing young girl and she's going to do great things in her life," Julie said.

Nathan came downstairs already dressed in his uniform ready to go off on morning rounds. He nodded hello to Julie and kissed Elizabeth before dashing off.

"Take care of our babies," he said to her.

"I really, really love that man," Elizabeth said to Julie after he'd gone.

" I know you do. It's so good to see you happy, Sister. After what happened with Jack, we were all so worried for you. Mother and Father wanted you to come back to Hamilton and live there permanently, you know."

"I know they did and that wouldn't have been the right decision for me. Julie, I think it's time to ask you. Why are you still here? What happened between you and Tom?"

Julie paused a moment. "Okay, here goes. Tom was thinking about cheating on me."

"What? Julie, that is not possible. Tom has his checkered past, but he I know he loves you. I can't believe he would ever do that to you."

"Do you remember Evelyn Dearborn? I believe she was a year behind you in school?" Julie asked.

"I can't say I do. Why?"

"Well, Evelyn married Charles Kensington. They have two kids. A girl and a boy. Adorable. But anyway, for some reason, Charles and Evelyn invited us to a dinner party at their house."

"Wait. Hold up. Charles is married? You never told me that," Elizabeth said.

"Of course he's married. He's good looking, he's a decent man and he's rich. You didn't think he'd spend the rest of his life pining for you, did you?"

"No, of course not. I just thought you might have told me. That's all. So anyway, what happened?"

"Evelyn was seated next to Tom at dinner and hanging on every word he said. She kept pouring him more champagne like she was pouring it down his throat. I got up and left the table in a huff but neither of them even noticed."

"After dinner, I couldn't find Tom anywhere. Then I walked out onto the terrace and I could hear voices down in the courtyard. Tom and Evelyn. Evelyn was crying. So I stood on the terrace and listened to them."

"So, you were spying on your own husband?" Elizabeth said.

"Not necessarily. I happened to be standing above them and I heard the conversation. Evelyn was blubbering about how unhappy she was. She said Charles was cold and stiff and that their marriage was one big sham."

Elizabeth couldn't help but stifle a laugh. "I never want to sound mean, but unfortunately the things she was saying about Charles are true."

"Elizabeth, stop it. Then, she leaned in and kissed Tom. Her and my husband were kissing."

"Well, did he kiss her back?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, he pushed her away and told her she needed to talk to Charles. But then he gave her a hug."

"A hug? Was it a friendly, comforting hug or the other kind?"

"I couldn't really tell from my vantage point. But she broke free and ran so I'd say the first kind . I guess she was expecting something more."

" And Tom didn't reciprocate, so I don't understand why you're so upset. He had the opportunity to go down that path and he didn't take it. Julie, honestly this is all very silly. You need to call Tom and have a frank, honest conversation with him."

Julie stopped talking for a moment and stared at her hands. "There's something else I haven't told you. We've been trying to have a child and it hasn't been successful. We've been arguing about it. We discussed adoption but Tom isn't ready to do that yet."

Julie began crying and Elizabeth walked over and placed a comforting hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Julie, I am so sorry. I'm really not the person to talk to about that for obvious reasons. Rosemary might be the one you need to talk with. She and Lee struggled for years to have a child before finally adopting. She'll be at the baby shower on Saturday. You can talk then."

Julie wiped away her tears. "I will. And I promise to call Tom and try to work things out."

" We'll talk later. Right now, I have to get Jack up and get us ready for school. Thank the Lord there's only a week left. It's hard to teach with two tiny humans inside you dancing on your bladder all day. Take care, Julie. Thanks for staying with Abbey today."

Nathan almost didn't recognize his daughter when she stepped off the train. The woman with the short hair wearing a smart looking traveling suit with the smudge of lipstick and powder on her face was not his Allie.

She ran into his arms and embraced him as soon as she spotted him.

" Dad! It's so good to be home! Where is the rest of the gang?"

" They're all at home waiting for you. Come on, let's get your trunk to the car."

They were halfway home before he mentioned her new look.

"So, I see you got your hair bobbed?"

"Yes. My friend, my roommate Rebecca's hairstylist did it. Are you mad?"

"Why would I be mad? It's your hair. You just look different. Much more grown up."

"I am eighteen, Dad. I just spent a year away from home. I'm not you're little Allie anymore."

"So, everything is going okay in school? Your grades were good? Rebecca is still going to be your roommate next semester?"

"Yeah. High honors, Dad. As for who my roommate will be next year, that's kind of on hold."

Allie wasn't sure how to break the news that she wasn't planning on going back to school in September. Now was probably not the time to bring that up.

Julie had helped the kids make a welcome home banner for Allie and they'd decorated with balloons and streamers.

Jack and Abbey had thought it would be fun to hide under the kitchen table and then run out yelling "surprise." Elizabeth decided to play along.

"Welcome home. I can't imagine where Abbey and Jack are!"

The two children then ran out shouting "surprise" and scrambled to embrace Allie.

"Can we go fishing?" Jack asked her.

" Jack, let Allie sit down and relax a minute. She's had a long trip," Elizabeth said.

"I would love to take you fishing. I cannot wait to get out of these clothes,"Allie answered.

"We made cupcakes," Abbey said.

"I swear she's more excited about the cupcakes than anything else," Nathan said.

They all went into the kitchen for the cupcakes and iced tea. Allie seemed happy to be home but both Elizabeth and Nathan noticed she didn't say much about school or her plans for the summer.

Elizabeth's shower was held the following Saturday in the back room of the cafe. She hadn't wanted a fuss but of course Rosemary insisted.

The last gift turned out to be two beautiful yellow baby blankets Clara had made for her

" Clara, these are lovely. We're painting the baby's room yellow so these are perfect."

The ever practical Nathan had gotten Jack's crib and Abbey's crib out of the tool shed and painted and varnished them. He was also working on a handmade cradle for each twin. They'd started painting and decorating the nursery but were far from finished.

"So, Lee bought this old broken down rattletrap of a car that he said he wants to restore. Don't ask me why it's a bucket of bolts. Anyway, Joseph was fascinated with the car. So that's what they were during when I left. Working on the car together. Just so adorable," Rosemary said.

"Nathan, Allie, Jack and Abbey are all fishing today," Elizabeth said.

"And Lucas took little Josh to Buxton to a magic show," Fiona said.

Elizabeth was grateful for her wonderful friends also that this day had allowed an opportunity for fathers to spend time with their children as well.

"So, before we go, I have an announcement. Lee and I are adopting another child. We heard from the Brookfield orphanage. Apparently, Joseph has a sister," Rosemary said.

Elizabeth looked at her friend in astonishment. "Rosemary, that's wonderful. But how did this come about?"

"After the parents passed, an aunt took in the little girl but for some reason didn't take Joseph. When the aunt passed away the child was sent to the Brookfield orphanage. We had already adopted Joseph by then, and the sister was using the aunt's last name."

Elizabeth's heart ached for little Joseph. Not only had he lost his parents but his aunt hadn't even wanted him. No wonder the boy was so withdrawn.

"So little Chloe kept talking about having a brother but Grace and Lillian didn't understand at first. Then she said his name was Joseph and they put two and two together. They called us, and we're picking her up next week!"

"And Joseph never said anything to you about having a sister?" Elizabeth asked.

"Not a word. She's four years old and from what Grace and Lillian have told us, she's a bright, outgoing child. I am so excited to have a daughter! I just cannot wait!"

Elizabeth was happy that Joseph would be reunited with his sister. She was happy that Lee and Rosemary would have another child to love. And she was happy that Abbey would have a friend near her own age nearby.

Later that night Elizabeth dressed for bed and slid under the covers next to Nathan. It had been a long day and her body ached.

"Mama needs a back rub and I hear there's a Mountie who gives the best ones," she said to Nathan.

"So, I'm your personal masseuse now?"

Nathan asked.

"Among other things. I'm so happy for Lee and Rosemary. For Joseph too."

"Leave it to Rosemary to drop an announcement like this and upstage you at your baby shower," Nathan said.

"She is really happy about this and couldn't wait to share. I'll give her a pass. So how did fishing go?"

"Abbey caught her first fish with Jack's help. Then when he told her we'd cook it and eat for dinner, she got upset and said no. They couldn't do that to her fishy. She insisted on throwing it back in the water."

"Our daughter is a sensitive soul. I'm proud of her for that, actually."

Elizabeth fell asleep curled up next to her husband, his hands cradling her stomach as they slept.

Nathan woke up in the middle of the night assuming Elizabeth was in the bathroom and concerned that she seemed to be gone so long.

She finally emerged, her face stricken.

"Nathan. I think I'm in labor. And I'm bleeding."