School had resumed and the sweltering heat had finally begun to subside. Elizabeth sat on the top step in front of the little, one room school house and watched the children play; her hand instinctively rested on her belly. The warm breeze that gently blew felt good to Elizabeth and she rested back onto her elbows and let it blow across her face.

She could hear a wagon driving by and looked up to see Cat Montgomery waving at her daughter. Emily excitedly waved back in a big motion, swinging her arm back and forth above her head.

A few girls were playing jump rope, some of the boys were looking for bugs and frogs next to the pond. Jenny, a twelve-year-old girl that had just moved to Hope Valley with her family, was sitting alone on top of the tree stump. She held a book open on her lap but, hadn't turned a page since she sat down. Elizabeth watched her for a moment, seeing that Jenny would watch the girls jumping rope and then look back down at her book. A few shorts seconds later, she would be watching the girls play again.

Elizabeth walked over to the girls; Anna, Opal, Emily and Hattie all stopped when they saw her coming.

"Did you have a good lunch, Mrs. Thornton?" Opal asked her.

"Yes, I did, Opal. Did you?"

"Oh, yes. It was delicious."

"That's wonderful. Do you think you girls could go over and talk to Jenny? I think she might need some help making new friends."

All the girls nodded and ran over to Jenny. Elizabeth watched their interaction and saw a smile develop on Jenny's face. She joined the girls as they ran back to where they'd been playing. Hattie and Emily each picked up an end of the rope and began to swing it while Jenny jumped; the smile across her face said it all.

Satisfied with the outcome, Elizabeth returned to her seat at the top of the steps, took in a deep breath of warm air and watched the children play. When recess was over, Elizabeth picked up the little copper cowbell that Jack had given her years earlier. The copper was darkening and black leather strap was worn with use; a few cracks showed the lighter brown hide within. She rang it; signaling to the children to return to class.

"Everyone, open your readers to page 43." She paused to give all the children time to get their books out and opened to the correct page. "Cody, can you please begin reading aloud?"

After reading, they worked through math, spelling and science. Elizabeth picked up the bell and before she could even ring it, the kids all jumped up and filed out the door into the beautiful weather to get in a little more play before having to go home and do their chores.

She stood in the doorway, watching Phillip, Timmy and Patrick play for a few minutes, then returned to the classroom to gather up the papers she needed to grade and placed them in her basket. She took her basket and a few books and carried them out to the buggy. After hitching up Rose, she turned her toward town and headed towards Abigail's, where she was meeting Jack for dinner.

Jack was standing outside in front of the café, waiting for Elizabeth when she pulled Rose to a stop. He stepped off the boardwalk, smiling, as he offered his hand to help her down. As soon as her feet were on the ground, Jack wrapped his arms around her, turning her to face him, and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Hello, beautiful."

"Hello, Constable." She said as she tightened her arms around his waist.

"Are you ready for a nice quiet dinner?" Jack reached up with both hands, brushed back a couple stray hairs, then cupping her face he pulled her to him for another kiss; this one much longer than the first.

When Jack finally released her, Elizabeth pulled back to catch her breath and her composure. Looking at him with wanting eyes, she asked, "What was that for?"

Jack grinned, and still holding her, he answered, "Because you are the best thing that has ever happened to me."

Elizabeth could feel her cheeks grow warm. No matter how long they'd been together, Jack could still make her blush.

She sucked in another deep breath through her nose and replied, "Yes."

Jack looked at her puzzled. "Yes, what?"

"I'm ready for a nice quiet dinner." She grinned.

Jack threw his head back and laughed, "I'd forgotten I had even asked that." He bent his arm, offering it to Elizabeth, and she wrapped her arm through his and walked beside him up the steps and into the café.

…..

Elizabeth's pregnancy was going perfectly with no issues. She'd already had a few visits to Dr. Shepherd just to watch her progress and make sure everything looked normal.

Rosemary and Lee held a party at their house to celebrate Hannah Rose's first birthday. Elizabeth and Jack both thought Rosemary had invited the entire town when they arrived to their packed house. Hannah had loved all the attention and enjoyed the extra playtime with her favorite twins.

…..

The end of the year was approaching quickly and the cold bite that had invaded the air was signaling an impending snow storm. Jack and Elizabeth had stored extra food from their garden and made a couple extra trips to the mercantile to ensure they had plenty of food in case they got snowed in.

When the snow finally arrived, it snowed just enough to give the landscape a beautiful white blanket. Everyone had been relieved and life continued as normal.

Christmas was only a couple weeks away, followed shortly after by the twins' second birthdays. Elizabeth was almost eight months along by now and was getting quite uncomfortable. They had decided on a small, intimate birthday party for the twins as Elizabeth didn't think she could handle much more.

Rosemary was close behind at almost seven months along and was even more miserable. Jack and Lee had both picked up the slack in their households and had been helping with meals and the children as much as they could when they weren't at work.

Elizabeth was glad that school was on Christmas break now, and she would not be returning until the following fall. A substitute was arranged to arrive in January to finish out the school year for her.

After a long phone call with her sister, Elizabeth leaned back into the sofa and stretched her legs out. Jack walked in to find Elizabeth in a deep sleep and let out a small chuckle before lowering himself to the floor near her feet. He gently picked up her right foot and began to loosen the laces on her shoes. Elizabeth stirred and opened her eyes halfway, revealing her beautiful blue eyes to Jack.

Jack stared at her as he pulled her shoe off and began to message her foot. Elizabeth closed her eyes and let out a little moan as she repositioned herself to ease the pain from her lower back.

"That is wonderful, Jack. Just what I needed." Her eyes were still closed as she spoke.

"I do what I can." Jack was grinning when Elizabeth opened one eye and grinned back.

"Julie called a little while ago."

"How is she doing? Everything alright with the pregnancy?" Jack moved to the other foot and began to loosen the laces and remove the shoe.

"You know she had a tough time at the beginning? She was really sick."

"Yes, Tom was telling me how bad it was. Sounded awful." Jack began to rub her left foot now and Elizabeth let out another little moan.

"Hmm. That feels great, Jack." Elizabeth opened her eyes and tipped her head to look at Jack. "Well, Julie said she is finally over the sickness, but now she's tired all the time and has been feeling weak. The doctor has put her on bedrest for the rest of the pregnancy."

"Oh, wow. I haven't talk to Tom in about a month. I didn't realize it had gotten to that. Did she say how the baby was doing?"

"They think it's alright. They are just trying to make sure she doesn't go into labor too soon right now. But everything with the baby is measuring normal."

"That's good." Jack picked up her right foot again and began to rub both feet, one in each hand.

Elizabeth laid her head back onto the couch and closed her eyes again. "I wish I could go be with her but that obviously can't happen." Her voice had lowered and slowed, a sign that she was feeling sad.

"What about your mom? Or my mom?" Jack asked.

"Charlotte said she would be there as soon as she could. But it looks like that won't be for another three weeks. Julie is calling our mom today to see if she can be with her until then."

"That will be good. Julie will be just fine. I know Tom had us worried at first but I think he's really grown up and changed."

"Yes, he has. So has Julie. They ended up being really good for each other."

…..

It was the day before Christmas and Elizabeth was in the kitchen preparing food for the next day. Bill, Dottie, Lee, Rosemary, Abigail, Henry and kids were coming to their house for Christmas dinner. Jack had been out gathering firewood to bring inside and stacked it next to the stove. After Jack was finished outside, he helped Elizabeth in the kitchen; chopping vegetables and washing dishes.

The week prior, Jack had taken his family out in a wagon and together they picked out the perfect Christmas tree. The twins loved having a tree inside the house and were constantly getting into it. Elizabeth had to move the more delicate ornaments higher on the tree so Joey and Lilly couldn't get them.

Christmas morning, when Elizabeth woke, she could hear two tiny voices talking to a deeper voice. She smiled as she listened to them talking in the sitting room.

"What this, Daddy?" Lilly asked.

"Those are presents." Jack patiently answered.

"What a present?" Joey questioned.

"Well, those are surprises that you two and mommy get to unwrap and see what's inside."

"A s'pise?" Lilly asked, her eyes widening larger than Jack thought possible.

"Yes, a surprise." Jack smiled as he picked her up and sat her on his knee. Joey walked over and started climbing onto his other knee as Jack wrapped his arm behind him and pulled him up.

"Is it our birfday?" Joey asked.

"Not yet, but almost. Today is Jesus' birthday."

"Ohhh...Jesus!" Lilly exclaimed. They both began to clap, eyes wide, smiles covering their faces. "We sing happy birfday to Jesus?"

"Yes, we sure can. We can do that when our guests are here for dinner." Jack answered, straightening Lilly's dress.

"Hannah!" They both exclaimed, clapping.

"Yes, Hannah will be here. And Cody and Becky."

Joey and Lilly clapped again. Jack could feel the excitement building in them and thought they might burst.

"When we open s'pise?" Joey asked.

"As soon as your mommy is awake and ready." Lilly arched her back and tried to slide off Jack's lap. "Woah there, Lillian." He pulled her back onto his leg. "We are going to let mommy sleep. She needs her rest."

"Baby." Lilly said as she wrapped her arms around herself and hugged.

"Yes, that's right. The baby makes mommy tired so she needs extra sleep."

"When we see baby?" Joey asked, his brow pinched together in a frown.

"Soon. Three weeks maybe." Jack answered, smiling. He could feel his own heart begin to race with excitement.

"Sree weeks?" Lilly said, eyes wide again, smiling.

Jack nodded.

"How long sree weeks?" Joey asked, looking at Lilly. Lilly shrugged her shoulders clear to her ears.

"Not very long at all, kiddos. Not long at all." Jack lowered each of them to the floor and took their hands. "Let's tippy toe to the kitchen and start some breakfast for mommy. How's that sound?"

Lilly started jumping up and down and Joey frowned at her. Quite loudly he said, "Shhhh...mommy's seeping!" Lilly stopped jumping and got a worried look on her face.

"It's alright, Lilly. Let's walk quiet."

Jack walked quietly as the twins walked on their toes in exaggerated movements.

….

The smell of bacon filled the air as Elizabeth slid the last button of her dress through its hole and pulled the skirt down, smoothing it around her stomach. She was standing in front of the mirror pinning the sides of her hair up when Jack peeked into the room.

"Oh, you are awake." He stopped in the doorway and leaned against the frame, arms crossed, and watched Elizabeth. "Did we wake you?"

Elizabeth turned and looked in Jack's direction, a bobby pin sticking out of her mouth. She smiled and shook her head. Once she removed the pin and placed it in her hair, she answered him. "No, I was already awake. I just stayed in bed for a little while and listened to you guys talking."

She walked over to Jack and put her arms around his waist. Jack leaned over to kiss her; her stomach kept a wide gap between them now. They both giggled and looked down at the bulging belly. Jack rubbed the sides and knelt down as he has done so many times before and spoke into her navel.

"Merry Christmas, baby. We can't wait to meet you." He kissed the front of her stomach and received a kick in return. Jack jerked his head back, eyes wide and stared at area in front of him for a short moment before looking up at Elizabeth, laughing. "I guess he or she wasn't in the mood for a kiss this morning."

He stood and looked into his wife's laughing face. "You are so beautiful." Her checks flushed with a crimson red and Jack ran his knuckles along her cheekbone. "So beautiful" He gently took hold of her head and pulled her toward him as he leaned over her belly, kissing her with a softness that made Elizabeth weak in the knees.

…..

After breakfast, Jack and Elizabeth led the twins back to the Christmas tree and sat them down on the floor. They looked up at their parents, excitedly waiting for their s'pise. Elizabeth took a seat on the sofa while Jack pulled two presents out from under the tree and handed one to each of the twins. He helped them get started on the unwrapping, then the kids easily finished themselves.

Lillian got a new baby doll and Joey unwrapped a wooden train with moving wheels. He drove it around the floor while making train noises with his mouth. Lillian held her doll like a real baby and stroked her hair, talking softly to her.

Jack reached under the tree and pulled out another gift and handed it to his wife. Elizabeth looked at him, bright eyed and smiling, then began to unwrap it. She lifted the lid off the box and inside was a brand-new journal, bottle of ink and a new fountain pen. She picked up the brown leather journal and turned it over in her hand. In the lower right corner of the front was her name in gold. She ran her fingers across it and felt the foil stamp name embossed into the cover.

"Jack, this is beautiful." She opened the book and saw writing on the inside cover and stopped to read it.

To my dearest, Elizabeth

I love you, my beautiful wife. I thank you for making my life complete. I thank you for making my life better. I thank you for our beautiful, growing family. You have my heart. It has been yours since the first time I saw you. Like I said in my vows, I chose you and no other. You are the love of my life and I can't wait to grow old with you. Thank you for being my friend, my companion, my strength and my wife.

All my love, Jack

Elizabeth wiped away a single tear that was trailing down her cheek. Jack sat next to her and pulled her in for a warm embrace then kissed the top of her head. "So, you like it?"

"Oh, yes, Jack. Very much." She pointed under the tree to a small box. "Can you grab that please?"

Jack got down on his knees and reached under the tree and returned with the small box. He began to hand to Elizabeth but she stopped him. "It's yours. Go ahead and open it. It's from me and the twins."

Jack pulled back the wrapping and opened the box. He lifted out a dark brown leather square that had a leather handle across the top with BROWNIE stamped into it. He turned it in his hand and looked into the glass lens in the front.

He looked at Elizabeth, grinning. "You got me a camera?"

She nodded. "Yes, I know you were disappointed when you had to turn in your work camera and I thought you might like to have photos of the children as they grow up."

Jack hugged Elizabeth then returned to the camera. Inside the box was also film so he loaded it and started taking photos right away. After taking a couple photos, he set it down, jumped up and ran out the back door.

Elizabeth was left, looking confused at what just transpired, and stared at the back door waiting for Jack to return. A few minutes later he returned, carrying something wrapped in a wool blanket. Jack looked at Elizabeth with a very mischievous grin across his face as he closed the door.

"What did you do, Jack?"

"Well, I got a little something for the whole family."

Elizabeth could see the blanket move and her eyes widened. "Jack! What is that?"

Jack knelt to the floor in the sitting room and called the twins over. Their curious faces were full of wonder as they watched their daddy pull back the blanket and reveal a little black ball of fur. A two-month-old puppy rolled out of the blanket and onto the wood floor. It stood, stretched, and when it saw the kids, began to wag its tail.

Squeals emitted from both children as they ran around the room, the little black puppy right on their heels. Jack looked sheepishly up at Elizabeth who sat with her arms crossed, shaking her head.

"Jack Thornton," she said, still shaking her head.

"I know. I saw the pup and remembered the one Tom and I had growing up. We had the best times playing with Rascal. Most of my favorite childhood memories include him."

Elizabeth's face softened at this and she turned her attention to the twins and the puppy: they really were having the best time together. She uncrossed her arms and let out a big sigh in surrender. Jack stood and crossed the room to her, leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you, beautiful." Jack winked.

She let out another big sigh then a big smile grew across her face as she watched the kids play with the new family member.