Allie and Cody had returned from their blissful honeymoon, and life quickly settled into normalcy once again as the holidays loomed. There was still a bit of awkwardness between Cody and his now father-in-law. Whenever Allie came to the Jail, much to the amusement of Nathan, Cody would avoid any public display of affection. Occasionally though, Allie would take matters into her own hands and kiss her husband soundly in front of her father. Then, one day, he caught her watching Cody chopping wood outback for the jail. His amusement quickly fled when he realized she had a similar expression in her eyes that her mother had when watching him. After that, he tried to give them privacy when she dropped by.

It all started innocently enough with a remark about the level of wood for the café. Bill made a sly comment regarding Elizabeth's failure to 'share wood' and that Nathan was slipping. Elizabeth had good-naturedly teased that Nathan already had six cords of wood stockpiled, so he hadn't needed to chop any in a while. Then added that if Bill was slipping and needed assistance, she would share some to help him out. Everyone laughed, but then Bill came back with the things must be colder in their marriage as a result. Then suggested that Elizabeth could always watch Lee or one of the others chop wood to help spice things up again. That's when things went downhill with the insinuation that chopping was all that was needed to keep the spark going for the women.

Nathan still wasn't sure how it turned into a battle of the sexes, although Rosemary was the instigator in his mind. The wives were in an uproar, and any attempts made by Cody or Nathan to discuss it with their ladies just made things worse. Lee and Bill were faring even worse than they were. Lucas and Mike looked at him as if to say, "How are you going to fix this?"

Thankfully a visit from Gabe helped them figure out how to do just that. They were hanging out in the Jail after work because they knew that their wives were meeting at the café for tea.

"I notice that all is not well between the newlyweds or even the older wed," Gabe observed. "I'm a bit surprised you and Elizabeth are experiencing some angst, however. Do you want to talk about it?"

"What do you mean? You have seen the two of us disagree before," Nathan said defensively but then sighed and continued. "To be honest, I'm not really sure, except that it had something to do with woodchopping."

"Woodchopping?" Gabe said. "I think you need to start from the beginning because you must be missing something."

Lee and Cody had joined them by then. By the time Nathan was finished, Gabe was laughing. "Bill sure stirred things up around here."

"Rosemary has been doing her level best to keep it there, too," Lee muttered.

"I tried talking to Allie again last night after dinner, but…." Cody said, throwing his hands up in surrender. "You know how stubborn she can be, sir."

"Cody, when we are off duty, it's Nathan. Remember?" he reminded the younger man.

"Sorry about that Nathan," Cody said. "Anyway, she refused to discuss it, and I'm pretty sure Bill is probably enjoying things. Though Mom certainly isn't making it easier on him."

"Wait, Cody, have you tried talking to your mom about what is going on?" Lee asked, brightening a bit.

"I did, but she told me I needed to get my answers from my wife like all the other husbands. Then she gave me a cookie and sent me on my way." Cody said sheepishly. The men nodded in commiseration as they tried to devise another idea.

Meanwhile, the ladies were talking in the café having tea. Molly brought coffee to the table, and Allie ran to the sink. When she threw up, Elizabeth went over to her.
"Allie, are you all right, sweetheart?" Elizabeth asked, beginning to wonder if her suspicions were correct. Allie had told her earlier that she had been unwell the past few days. Catching Faith's eye, she gestured with her head that she needed to look at Allie. Abigail stayed to throw the others off the scent, but she didn't miss Elizabeth's smirk.

As they walked with Faith to the Infirmary, Allie suspected that she was pregnant. That led her to ponder the standoff that had cropped up between husbands and wives. If she was expecting, she didn't want to continue with it. But she was clueless about how to fix it. Not long after they entered the Infirmary, Faith confirmed that she was indeed going to have a baby.

"We need to fix things, Mom!" Allie said. "I want this to be a time of celebrating,"

"I agree, sweetheart, and it's time to fix it. I happen to know that your father and Cody are together at the jail. I say let's go there and share our news and fix things at the same time." Elizabeth asked. "Faith, can you tell Abigail we will be back soon?"

"I can," Faith said. "We will patiently wait for your return and for the cease-fire too."

Elizabeth laughed, "Well, I've really missed my husband. It has been so hard trying to keep my distance. I'm so tired, too, and frankly don't have the energy to keep up. Bill and Rosemary can keep this little feud going, but Allie and I are out!"

"Go get em' Tiger," Faith said, giving Elizabeth a playful shove.

They walked up the steps together, and they could hear the men desperately trying to figure out how to repair things too. "There has to be some way to fix this?" Nathan was saying. "I miss my wife, and I'm done with this whole feud that Bill and Rosemary have going on."

"Good, because I am, too," Elizabeth said, walking over to Nathan. "I'm going to cut to the chase, Nathan, so that we can focus on much happier things." Gabe and Lee excused themselves and left, leaving Cody, Allie, Elizabeth, and Nathan.

"Can we talk in your office for a moment?" Elizabeth asked her husband. He nodded silently, and after they entered, he closed the door.

"When I watch Lee chop wood, as I have before, he doesn't have the same impact as when I watch you. Same with Bill or anyone else. However, when it comes to you, there's a difference because everything about you excites me, Nathan. Implying that I get warm watching men chopping wood, in general, was like you saying that I would be attracted to anyone in a Serge."

"Oh, sweetheart, I am so sorry because that was not what I would ever imply. We have something very special together. Every little thing you do fascinates me and keeps me enthralled. From waking up in the

morning and seeing your beautiful blue eyes to holding you at night. I watch you with my children, and I'm so grateful that you are their mom and my life partner. You always support me and ensure I know how much you love me." Nathan said.

"I know, but the others may need to get with the program. Maybe the next class you teach should be that one?" Elizabeth said, eyes twinkling before capturing his lips with hers. He quickly deepened the kiss, and fire quickly ignited. It was like coming home for each of them, and all hurts were healed.

He pulled back and asked, "Does this mean we can make up now?" eyes smoldering.

"I certainly hope so," Elizabeth said. "But first, we should talk to Allie."

They walked out, and Cody was sitting in the chair with Allie on his lap. He appeared to be in shock, and Allie was trying to calm him.

"Allie? What's wrong, sweetheart," Nathan said, going instantly into father mode.

"I just found out from Faith that Cody and I are going to have a baby," Allie said excitedly. Cody finally recovered from the shock and kissed his wife.

After another brief hug, she stood and went to her father, who quickly enfolded her in his arms. "That's so great, Allie Girl. I am so happy for the two of you."

Elizabeth felt a bit tired suddenly and had to sit down. She felt the room spin a bit and practically fell into the chair that Cody was just in.

"Sweetheart, are you all right?" Nathan said, rushing towards her.

"Nathan, I'm fine. I just haven't slept well lately, I think, and the stress of the last few days took its toll. Plus, the pressure of the coming holidays probably hasn't helped any."

"Are you sure?" Nathan said, running a hand down her back.

"I am sure, Nathan," Elizabeth said, standing. "Now, I think everyone should be gone by now, so shall we go tell Abigail and….the Judge!" Her tone was a little less warm as she spoke of Bill, but Nathan didn't care. He was no longer on the outs, and judging by his wife's words earlier it was definitely going to be warmer tonight than over the past few days. It was up to Bill to find his own path and to make amends to Elizabeth.

Over the next few days, Elizabeth had more dizzy spells and a headache. Then last night, she got sick after dinner and went to bed early. She couldn't even lift her head off the pillow, and Nathan was worried about her. She looked pale, so Nathan insisted on having Faith come and look at her. No matter how Elizabeth protested, he insisted on it, so she agreed reluctantly.

Nathan had Rosemary watch the children while he ran into town to get Faith. As she explained her symptoms to Faith, the other woman began to smile. "Let me just do a quick exam because I have an idea of what the problem may be."

"What is it, Faith? Is it serious? It's probably that stomach bug going around, isn't it?" Elizabeth asked. Then looked over at Nathan and said, "See, I told you it's nothing to worry about."

Nathan chuckled and said, "Why don't you let Faith do the exam before you make the final diagnosis for her, all right, my love?"

"Fine," Elizabeth said. Faith did a quick exam and said, "Well, Dr. Grant, I never like to disagree with a colleague, but your diagnosis is wrong. You, my dear friend, are, in fact, pregnant. Judging by the exam, I estimate that your child will be due around the same time as your first grandchild.

"What?" Elizabeth and Nathan said simultaneously.

"I'm going to see myself out, but congratulations, you two," Faith said with a laugh. "Come see me in a few days, and we can make a care plan for you. In the meantime, ginger tea for your nausea, and don't overdo it."

"I will, Faith," Elizabeth said with a smile. "I just can't believe this."

"Well, believe it because, before long, there will be physical proof." Faith said.

Elizabeth looked at Nathan incredulously, trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was again pregnant. She looked over and saw the look in his eyes and chuckled. "Don't look at me like that, Nathan. I think that's how we got into this predicament."

"Oh, my love, if I remember my biology correctly," Nathan said, his crooked smile making an appearance, "I think it involved more than my looking at you." Then he winked before bedding down to kiss her. After that, there was no more talking as they

A few days later, in church….

"Before I end with our closing prayer, there are a few announcements that I have been tasked to make. In the book of Genesis, there are two instances where the command is given to be fruitful and multiply and repopulate the earth. With that in mind, I am honored to announce that Cody and Allie Stanton are expecting their first child." Everyone clapped for them. He then looked over at the Grants' large family spread across a single pew and chuckled.

"Now some have taken that verse quite literally…." Joseph said with a chuckle. "Or a challenge!" Bill said with a smirk. Everyone laughed as Elizabeth gave him a friendly smack.

I would also like to announce that Nathan and Elizabeth Grant are also expecting a little one." More clapping and congratulations ensued, and after closing prayer, Abigail came up to Elizabeth and, with a chuckle, asked, "Joint showers then?"

EPILOGUE – ONE YEAR LATER

Elizabeth delivered their 10th child, another little boy named Daniel Emerson Grant, on a lovely summer day in July. He would ultimately be Grant's last child. Two weeks later, Allie delivered her first child, a girl whom she named Colleen Elizabeth, after her two mothers.