Jack turned his head to see his wife and son waving goodbye to him as he headed off to do his morning rounds. Little Jack was growing so fast, and as for Elizabeth, well, she still gave him butterflies every time she broke her playful smile towards him; sunny and cheerful with a touch of mischief.
Suddenly He became aware of someone riding beside him,
"Morning Nathan," he smiled at his fellow Mountie and best friend, along with Lee and Bill, of course.
"Morning Jack, lost in thought on this fine morning?" Nathan answered, grinning his lopsided grin,
"Well, I am a thoughtful man," Jack replied, "also, I thought it to be quite chilly this morning."
Nathan laughed, "I suppose we'd better get started on our rounds then."
Off the two men rode in different directions, both determined to protect his town.
Back at their little row house, Elizabeth bent down to tie Little Jack's shoes, though her big belly proved to be quite inconvenient when partaking in activities closer to the ground. Standing up, she groaned and ran her hand over her swollen belly,
'Our little one should be here in less than a month now, I'm sure. I wonder if it's a boy of a girl... having a little girl would be wonderful but a boy for Little Jack to play with would be lovely too. Jack is sure it will be a girl. Maybe it is, for somehow it feels different to when I was expecting Little Jack. But either way it will be a blessing. What a joy to be a mother.'
"Mom. Mooommm!" Little Jack interrupted her train of thought, "help? It's broken." He said handing her a wooden horse whose leg had fallen off.
"Oh!" Elizabeth pretended to be shocked, "we'll have to tell Daddy to pick up some glue from the mercantile when he comes home." She chuckled to herself and picked up the half knit blanket from the table. Settling herself on the couch, her knitting needles slowly began to twirl around each other as she watched her son play with his toys.
Suddenly Elizabeth felt a gentle hand stroke her face as a blanket was being pulled over her. Her eyes fluttered open,
"Jack?" She whispered, realising that Little Jack was sleeping soundly in her lap, "I must've fallen asleep, I'm sorry, lunch is not ready."
"Don't be sorry, you're tired. Why don't you go upstairs and rest while I prepare lunch and look after this little monster when he wakes up." Jack gestured to the little boy, asleep in his wife's lap.
"That would be lovely, thank you, Jack." Elizabeth began up the stairs, "I love you."
"I love you more." Jack called from the kitchen.
A little while later there was a knock on the door, "Come in!" Jack said, glancing toward the door. Nathan came in with a mysterious look on his face, "I did it." He said proudly
"Well, I'll be!" Jack shook his friend's hand and patted him on the back. Of course he knew what his friend was talking about. He had asked out Katie, the pretty girl who helped at the mercantile.
"We are having dinner tomorrow evening," Nathan said, staring dreamily into the distance.
Just then Elizabeth came waddling down the stairs, "Good afternoon Nathan, what brings you here?"
"I just came by to tell Jack some news-" he began
"He asked Katie out!" Jack cut in quickly
"Oh, that's wonderful, Congratulations." Elizabeth said sincerely
"Jack, I need to go down to the mercantile fo a few things, could you finish lunch?"
"I guess I'll be on my way then." Nathan got up towards the door
"Bye!" Jack and Elizabeth said in unison
At the mercantile, Elizabeth was doing her shopping, when an unfamiliar man came up to her,
"Hello pretty lady, what might your name be?" He asked
"Mrs. Elizabeth Thornton." She emphasised on the 'Mrs.'
The man didn't seem to take the hint, "Well, Lizzy, If it ain't a pleasure to meet you."
"Lizzy?" Elizabeth was taken aback, a stranger calling her a nickname? "Uh- look, sir, if you'll excuse me, I really need to do my shopping."
"I'll help you, Liz, and then I'll escort you home. We'll make a handsome couple, don'tcha think?"
Elizabeth squirmed uncomfortably, as if it wasn't obvious she was expecting, and definitely not interested in his attention.
"Mr., I'm married and I can walk myself home, Thank you." She brushed past him
"Oh my, darlin', don't fret, I'm just hoping for your company. Come with me." He grabbed her hand, she fought against him but he was strong. She screamed as he lifted off her feet and headed towards the back door.
"NED! HELP!"
Ned hurried to the back of the shop, but the door was wide open and he saw a wagon heading towards the edge of the town.
"Jack! Nathan! Help! Quick!" He yelled
Nathan came running out of the jail, "Ned! What happened?"
"A man! He took Elizabeth! Out the back door!" Ned had a frantic look on his face,
Nathan took action immediately, "Mike," he said, "you run to Jack and Elizabeth's house, tell Jack what happened and bring him here. Rosemary, you go with Mike to watch Little Jack. Lee, Bill, Carson, come with me. We need the rest of you to stay here, this might be a distraction from a robbery."
Everyone nodded in agreement while the men tacked up their horses. Soon Jack joined them, "Carson, are Elizabeth and the baby at risk?" His worried face was now dripping with sweat, "Elizabeth." He muttered.
Suddenly they heard a cry in the distance.
"ELIZABETH!" Jack yelled, galloping his horse in the direction of the sound.
"JACK?" She called back, only to have a cloth tied around her face. Just then she felt a pain in her belly, 'Please, don't come now!' She gently rubbed her belly, sobbing. What would happen to her and the baby if it came now? She prayed silently, not sure if she was being heard. But the wagon came to a stop, and she was pushed into a small, one room cabin with only a chair, and a thin small mattress on an antique bed frame.
Was she, the wife of a Mountie, being put in jail by a criminal? She almost laughed at the irony. The man closed the door, taking his post at the front door.
The pains continued, though she tried to distract herself by looking out the window. Among the trees, she could see movement! Was that Jack? And could she see Carson too? She began pounding on the window, when she realised the man was staring at her, his gun clutched tightly in his big, rough hands.
She sighed, losing hope, until she saw that Jack had seen her, and was coming around the back of the cabin. In all her misery, she hadn't noticed the back door, and quite obviously, neither had her captor, for it was completely unlocked. As quietly as she could, she turned the knob, wincing at the squeaky sound. She silently sighed a sigh of relief as she stepped out the dilapidated doorway. Jack rode his horse up to her, and she climbed on,
"I'm so glad you're her" She whispered into his ear,
"I'm so glad you okay. Nathan's arresting the man who took you." He whispered back,
"Ahhh!" Elizabeth cried out loudly, getting another contraction "Jack, I think the baby's coming!"
"Carson!?" Jack called, Carson rode around the corner of the cabin,
"Jack? What's wrong?" He asked
"Carson, I think the baby's coming and there's no time to get back to town." Elizabeth answered for him
"Elizabeth, I need you to get off that horse and into the cabin." He instructed, gently but firmly, "Jack, tell Lee and Bill to ride back to town as fast as they can. Get Faith, Abigail, blankets, and the bottle of steriliser from the third shelf on the north wall of the infirmary."
Elizabeth waddled over to the cabin, grunting and groaning, a comical sight if you walked by not realising what was going on, but she had a baby to deliver. She collapsed on the edge of the bed, panting softly. Jack rushed to her side, having just come back from sending Bill and Lee to town. On the inside, both Carson and Elizabeth knew the supplies wouldn't get there in time. This baby was coming out now, supplies or not.
Just when Elizabeth thought she couldn't do it anymore, a beautiful little girl fell into Carson's hands.
Elizabeth sobbed with joy, and Jack had tears in his eyes.
"That's a healthy little girl," Carson smiled at the raw beauty of birth, "you know, she came quicker than any other baby I've delivered."
Jack unbuttoned his serge and wrapped it around his daughter, lifting her tenderly. He handed her to his wife, "I was right." He chuckled, "what should we name her?"
"You know, none of the names I thought of seem to suit her." Elizabeth answered
Just then Abigail and Faith walked in, carrying all the supplies ordered. Abigail rushed over to Elizabeth, "did everything go well?" She asked,
"Perfect." Jack replied, his eyes not leaving the peaceful scene of his daughter nursing on his wife's chest
"It's a girl!" Elizabeth told her friend
"Oh, I knew that all along." Abigail laughed
"What should we call her?"
"You should call her Eliza, after Elizabeth." She suggested,
"You know what, I like it." Jack said
"We'll call her that," Elizabeth looked down lovingly at her baby girl, "but I couldn't think of a better middle name than Abigail. Eliza Abigail Thornton" She repeated
"That would be an honor. Now I have two things named after me, a cafe, and an Eliza." Everyone laughed.
Using the blankets brought by Abigail, they made a soft bed in the same wagon which Elizabeth had been thrown into just a few hours earlier. Faith drove the wagon, while Abigail rode Jack's horse. Jack and Elizabeth rode in the wagon with the new addition to their family.
Together Jack and Elizabeth lay in bed, little Eliza asleep in Jack's strong arms, and Little Jack fascinated by this tiny pink creature that had been in Mommy's tummy just the last time he had seen her.
"Do you love your new sister, Jack?" Elizabeth smiled at her little family
Little Jack nodded, his gaze never leaving his little sister
"You're a big brother," she explained slowly to him, "you have to protect and take care of your sister."
He nodded again, "'Liza," he pointed to her
"Yes! Eliza," Elizabeth was surprised he knew what was going on, but she knew he was a smart little boy.
"You know Elizabeth, when I thought I could lose you to that man..." his voice trailed off
"Oh, Jack, I was so scared." She sighed, resting her head on his shoulder
"Nathan was right. Three men were planning a robbery on the town. The man took you as a distraction." He told her
"He was so creepy, I should've left the mercantile as soon as he started paying attention to me."
"Elizabeth, it's not your fault. They had a plan. You just happened to be at the mercantile. Besides, look on the bright side, we would still be waiting for our Eliza if it weren't for your little adventure this afternoon."
"Thank you, Jack. You keep me safe." She looked up lovingly at the love of her life
"I hope you feel safe with me." He looked down lovingly at the love of his life
"I feel safe when I'm with you."
Thank you for reading! if you have any constructive critisism/ advice, pleas leave a review for me.