Author's note: You may find the next few chapters difficult to read but for me they are very therapeutic. I will explain more as we go through them. As always I appreciate your comments and reviews.

Chapter 69

Driving back to town following their honeymoon, Sarah felt as though they'd been gone longer than a week. Once they got into town Sarah noticed Nathan driving in the direction of Sarah's apartment. "Nathan, where are you going?"

"I thought we should go to your apartment and check on my mom and Allie before going to the row house. I'm sure they'll want to have dinner with us." Pulling up in front of the dress shop, Sarah couldn't resist the urge to stop in the store and say hi to Anna and Betsy while Nathan went upstairs to the apartment.

Sarah was pleased, but not surprised, to find everything in perfect order in the store and both ladies were happy to see Sarah back even though they knew she wouldn't be in the store until Monday since the rest of her time would be filled with moving to their new home. Sarah was just about to leave when Nathan came in. "They're not upstairs." He asked Anna and Betsy if they'd seen Allie or Nathan's mother.

"Now that you mention it, we haven't seen them for a few days." Anna was quick to offer.

Nathan's eyes flickered with worry and he wished his mind didn't always take him to the negative but, given his profession, it just seemed to be the natural course of things. Sarah saw the concern in his eyes and quickly said her goodbyes so they could get to the row house where, they hoped, they would find them.

Pulling up the front of the row house Nathan and Sarah saw that the windows were open and they could hear voices inside. Upon entry they found Caroline and Allie working in the kitchen and Archie in the chair in the sitting room. Allie was first to see them and ran to welcome both her dad and new mom home. "You're back! I missed you so much! When do we get to move to the new house?" As usual Allie's mind was moving at a much faster pace than any of the others. Nathan and Sarah both gave Allie a big hug with Nathan telling her to slow down and they would figure the moving questions out over dinner.

Nathan turned to his mother who was busy preparing dinner. The look on her face told him there was something going on that she didn't want to talk about in front of Allie. Caroline nodded her head in the direction of the sitting room where Archie was just rousing in spite of the noise and commotion caused by their homecoming.

Nathan went over to Archie. "Hey dad, thanks for bringing the food up to the house. It was a pleasant surprise." Nathan observed Archie's slow awakening and he wondered what was wrong. "Are you okay? You look a bit pale."

"Welcome home son, I'm fine. I'm just a little tired, that's all. I'm resting up so I can help with the move tomorrow." Archie's voice sounded weaker than it had when they'd spoken at the wedding and the sallowness of his skin was causing red flags for Nathan.

"Dad, you look like you're coming down with something. Don't worry about helping tomorrow. I can ask for help tomorrow at church. You've done a lot to help me get ready for the wedding and working on the house. I couldn't have gotten everything done without your help so you've earned a good rest." Nathan tried to sound casual but inside he was concerned by the change in his father in such a short time.

Caroline welcomed Sarah back with open arms. "Hello dear, did you have a wonderful time? We can't wait to hear all about it."

Sarah thought back to their days and nights together and could feel the heat rise in her cheeks and hoped it wasn't noticeable. "It was wonderful and relaxing. Thank you for taking care of Allie. We stopped at the apartment expecting to find you there. Did you have someone help you get to the house from town? I can't imagine you walked all this way."

Caroline looked down trying to avoid Sarah's eyes. "Allie asked Mr. Coulter if he could bring us to the house a few days ago."

Sarah could tell that Caroline wasn't telling her everything but she wasn't yet sure how much she could push her mother-in-law for answers. She didn't want to be disrespectful to Caroline but she also knew there was something remaining unsaid. Approaching her tentatively, Sarah rested her hand on her arm. She could see distress in her eyes and uncertainty in revealing anything to her daughter-in-law. "You've been here for a few days? Mrs. Grant, please tell me what it is. Maybe I can help."

"Sweet Sarah, I think it's time you stop calling me Mrs. Grant. I don't know what you would be comfortable calling me. I'm sure you have memories of your own mother that you don't want to diminish. What if you just call me Caroline?" Caroline took Sarah's hands in her own.

"I would like that very much, Caroline." Sarah smiled at the woman who had raised the husband she cherished. "We haven't known each other long but I can tell there's something going on that you're not saying. Is it Allie? Did she give you any trouble while we were gone?"

"Oh no, she was wonderful…so helpful for anything that we needed." Caroline's eyes danced when she spoke of her granddaughter. "It's Archie. Allie and I had been staying at the apartment until Mr. Coulter came to see us a few days ago. He told us that he'd stopped by Nathan's house and he was surprised when it took Archie a while to answer and when he finally did he didn't look good. He thought maybe we should check on him so he offered to drive us over. When we got here Archie was sleeping in the chair just as he was when you got home today. When we woke him, he just told us he was tired and in need of a nap but he didn't look good so Allie asked if she could stay with him. I knew if Archie was sick then Allie wouldn't be able to take care of him on her own so I asked Mr. Coulter to take us to the apartment to get some things and we've been staying here the last few days in case Archie needed us."

"Caroline, I am so sorry we weren't here to help. Given your history with Archie, I have to think you've been put in the very awkward situation of having to care for him." Sarah felt terrible that Nathan's mother had been put in the position of needing to take care of the man who'd caused so much pain in her life.

"Don't worry about me Sarah, I'll admit it was difficult at first but I just kept reminding myself that I was taking care of Allie's grandfather and it's clear how much she loves him."

Sarah was touched that Caroline was so generous with her time and care. She made her way over to Nathan who was sitting quietly with Archie. She pulled up a chair next to him and took his hand intertwining their fingers together as a show of strength she wanted Nathan to feel from her. She could see that Archie's eyes were closed so she whispered quietly to Nathan. "Did you get to talk to him at all?"

"He opened his eyes for a few minutes and just told me he was tired and trying to get ready to help with the move tomorrow." Nathan was worried but felt comforted by Sarah's presence. He had to keep reminding himself that he no longer had to face things alone and he was so grateful for that. "I'll make sure he doesn't help tomorrow. I'll find some others to help us after church. If Archie isn't feeling better by Monday, I'll take him to see Faith."

Over dinner they made a plan for moving the following day. Caroline told them that she and Allie had packed up most of Sarah's apartment so it shouldn't take too long to move her things. They'd done the same at the row house so following dinner they would wrap the last few items. Nathan took his mother and Allie back to the apartment and let them know he would pick them up for church in the morning.

Back at the house Sarah brought Archie a tray of food hoping it would give him some energy. She watched as he pushed the food around on his plate taking a few small bites. "Archie, you need to eat something." Sarah pleaded with him. "Do you think you have the flu?"

"I don't know…I was a little tired after the wedding but thought that was just because we were so busy leading up to it. I'm sure I'll feel better in a couple of days." Archie tried to sound convincing but it wasn't working.

Sarah told him that when Nathan got home, he would help him upstairs and if he didn't feel better by Monday, he was going to take him to Dr. Carter. Archie tried to protest and Sarah didn't want to upset him so she just let him talk knowing Nathan would do what was needed to take care of his dad.

Sunday morning was a little rushed since Nathan wanted to check on Archie before they left but needed to pick up his mother and Allie for church not to mention Sarah needed to dress for church at the apartment since most of her clothes were still at the apartment.

They made it to church just as little Cooper Canfield was ringing the bell announcing the start of service. The first thing they noticed was that the new school addition was already framed. Caroline and Allie entered first followed by Nathan and Sarah who was wearing a blue jacket and skirt that matched Nathan's eyes. They were a striking couple and their happiness couldn't be missed. Their friends were glad to see that they had returned from their honeymoon. Following the service Nathan recruited a few men to help them move their things to the new house. He hoped they would be able to get most of it finished today, Allie was anxious to spend her first night in the new house.

After a quick lunch and check on Archie, Nathan went to pick up the wagon from the livery. With all the help they had they were able to get everything moved in a couple of trips. Sarah, Allie and Caroline were at the new house starting to unpack as soon as things were delivered. Archie had been able to watch the happenings for a while and it was obvious that he was frustrated he couldn't help. His color wasn't any better than it had been the day before but he seemed to have enough energy to watch the activity around him and make suggestions when he thought they were needed.

By the end of the day everyone was exhausted but satisfied with the progress that had been made. Nathan's mother spent a good part of the afternoon in the new kitchen cooking and feeding the volunteers and Allie had invited her friends to come help unpack boxes. Archie observed from his new spot on a chair in the living room. Rosemary helped Sarah make all the beds while Lee helped Nathan finish moving furniture around in the living room. Sarah felt bad taking Rosemary away from the babies but she said it was actually nice to take a little break and Rachel was wonderful with them so she never worried when she was away from them.

After everyone else had gone home Lee and Rosemary stayed behind wanting to ask Sarah and Nathan an important question. Lee began. "We're having the babies christened next week and we were hoping that the two of you would be Godparents for Thomas. You've become family to us and we couldn't imagine anyone else in that role."

Sarah and Nathan were visibly touched and agreed immediately. "We would be honored to be Thomas' Godparents."

Rosemary looked down at the floor and shifted her feet a bit before continuing. "You should know that we asked Elizabeth to be Frannie's Godmother."

Sarah spoke up. "Of course you did! Elizabeth has been a very good friend to you both for a very long time and we would be surprised if you didn't include her. Sunday is about Thomas and Frances and there is no place we would rather be than standing beside you and Lee as the babies are christened." The sincerity in Sarah's words was felt by Rosemary and Lee and any concern about asking them to stand up next to Elizabeth was gone.

Once the Coulter's had gone home everyone let out a collective sigh of relief at having gotten so much accomplished. There was still a lot to do but they didn't feel the pressure to get it all done that night. Nathan and Sarah had to return to work the following morning which would leave Archie, Caroline and Allie together at the house. Nathan would take the car to town so he could easily get back and forth should Faith be able to see Archie some time during the day.

Shortly after dinner and clean up everyone made their way to their rooms ready for some peace and quiet before getting a good night's sleep. Nathan and Sarah were in their room remembering the week before when they had the house all to themselves. Nathan pulled Sarah into his arms and she rested her head on his chest. He lifted her chin with his finger and kissed her softly at first and then with growing intensity. Sarah swayed under his touch and Nathan pulled her tighter to him supporting her as his kisses deepened. "Thank you, my darling."

Sarah looked at him in confusion. "Thank you for what?"

"Just for being you and for everything you did today."

"Nathan, I think I did the easy things. We are blessed to have so many friends wanting to help us. We couldn't have done it without them." Sarah reached up and brought her lips to her husband's. Nathan returned her kisses and scooping her up into his arms he carried her to their bed. They lay with each other relishing the intimacy they were now free to share with each other.

Something about having the whole family under one roof made their night's sleep that much sweeter. It was likely that last night of peaceful rest they would have for quite some time.