It was Sunday morning and the Cartwright house was in its usual flurry of activity. There was breakfast to prepare and eat, the trip to town for church services, and then it was off to Adam's father's house for lunch and much-needed visiting.

Adam finished tucking in his shirt before heading out of his room and down the hall to wake up his children.

First up were the twins. Softly opening the door, Adam stepped into their room. He walked over to the one bed they shared and leaned down, pushing back Clara's slightly wavy blonde hair and Helen's nearly straight chocolate brown hair before gently giving them a kiss on each forehead.

When neither opened their eyes at that action, Adam realized he'd have to take a different approach. He would love to just sit here and watch them sleep, but if they were to be on time for church this morning, he'd have to be a bit more forceful.

"Helen, Clara? Sweethearts? It's time to wake up." Adam gently shook each shoulder to get them to rouse from their deep slumber.

With a yawn and one gigantic stretch, Helen was the first to wake up. "Is it morning already, Papa?"

"Yes, it is. Why don't you start getting your clothes ready while I wake your sister up?"

Helen pushed back her side of the covers and headed over to the armoire where all their dresses were stored.

Meanwhile, Adam gave Clara another light shake. She whined and turned to lay on her side, but she kept her eyes firmly closed.

"Clara, I know you're awake." Adam was met with silence. "All right. You leave me no other choice." Adam reached over and started tickling her.

Clara squealed as Adam found the most ticklish spot on her, right on her sides. "PAPA… Stooop!"

"Are you up now?" Adam stopped in his tickling attack briefly before starting up again.

"YES… Please stoooop!"

"Okay, Okay. I need you to get out of bed and go pick out a nice dress for church this morning. I'll stay here to help you both."

As Clara slid off the bed, Helen returned to stand in front of Adam so he could button up the back of her dress and brush her hair.

"You look very lovely, Helen." The teal dress with little white flowers on it was one of her favorites.

"Thanks, Pa."

By the time he gave her hair a quick brush and braided it into one long braid down her back, Clara was ready for Adam to help her. She had also picked out her favorite, a pretty powder purple dress with some lace around the hem and neck.

"You also look very lovely."

After helping Clara finish dressing, brushing her hair, and putting it into two long braids on either side of her head, he stood ushering his daughters into the hallway and telling them he had to go check on their brother.

Sending down twins down the stairs to their mother, Adam then headed to Nathan's room. Giving a knock on the door, he was relieved to hear a reply from his oldest.

"Come in. I'm up."

Adam opened the door, finding Nathan already dressed and at his dresser finishing up combing his nearly black short hair.

Adam leaned against the door frame watching him for a moment before calling out. "Are you almost ready, son?"

"Yeah, Pa. Just trying to get my hair to lay just right."

"Well, it looks good from here. If it's any comfort, I could never get my hair to look just right either. It appears you got that trait from me."

Nathan slammed the comb down in frustration. Clearly, he wasn't going to get his hair to look any better than it already was. He turned with a glare as he headed for his bedroom door. "Thanks a lot, Pa."

"Anytime, Son." With a chuckle, Adam ruffled Nathan's hair as he walked past him before they both headed to breakfast.

Ten minutes later, the whole family was gathered around the large dining room table. The early morning sun shone on the table filled with plates and bowls of eggs, sausage, and toast along with an assortment of jams and jellies.

Adam reached over to pick up the bowl of eggs to start serving himself and the twins while Nathan served himself a couple sausages.

"Papa, can I have the strawberry jam with my toast, please?"

"Thank you for asking so nicely Helen. Yes, you may. What flavor would you like on your toast, Clara?"

Clara shook her head. "I don't want any jelly or toast today."

"Are you sure? I think there's even some of that grape jelly you love so much."

Clara just shook her head.

Adam raised his eyebrows and glanced over at Cecily, who only shrugged. Adam knew Clara should eat some toast, but if his wife wasn't worried about it, he wasn't going to be either. Plus, he knew how to pick his battles regarding his children. This just wasn't one of those battles he wanted to deal with nor did he have the time to deal with an argument over toast this morning.

"Very well. Just know you won't be able to have some later."

"I know."

Adam watched as Clara dug into her eggs before turning his attention to his oldest. "Nathan, do you have any plans for when we go over to Grandpa's house later today?"

"Unkle Joe sa he might teech me how ta ply ches."

Adam cringed at his son's response. "Nathan, don't talk with your mouth full. It's not polite nor very appetizing to the rest of us."

Swallowing, Nathan answered his father's question again. "Sorry, Pa. I said Uncle Joe said he might teach me how to play chess. I've been wanting to learn for a while now."

"Hopefully, Joe will actually teach you how to play. From what I remember, he didn't seem to know the rules or if he did, he chose not to follow them."

Nathan tilted his head to the side, confused at his father's response. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uncle Joe liked to cheat when he was younger. I caught him almost every time. Eventually I just stopped playing with him."

"Oh. Maybe I'll ask Uncle Hoss instead." Laughs sounded out around the dining room from both Cecily and Adam.

Checking the time, Adam needed to head outside to hitch up the wagon for the trip into town. Standing up he looked around the table of almost empty plates. "I'm heading outside to get the horses ready. We best hurry up if we want to make it on time." Leaning over he gave Cecily a kiss, leaving Cecily to finish getting the children ready.

Adam pulled the wagon to a stop next to all the other wagons in front of the church. Nathan jumped out of the wagon as soon as it stopped. Adam first helped his wife from the front before going around to the back and helping Helen and Clara out of the wagon.

The family then headed for the front door of the church. Inside, they found Ben, Joe, and Hoss already sitting in their usual spot. Adam's children immediately headed straight towards them, the twins settling in between Ben and Hoss and Nathan sitting on the other side of Hoss with Joe on his other side. Adam and Cecily filed in after them, taking the seats at the end of the row with Adam next to Ben.

The service was longer than usual much to Adam's children's disappointment. They quickly grew impatient at having to sit for so long. Adam had to lean over his father and give the twins a tap on the shoulder twice and he had to give one stern glare further down the row to Nathan as a reminder to behave. Normally they didn't even need one reminder. They knew if Adam got to three there would be some unpleasant consequences unusually involving them having to leave the service and Adam having to give them a few warning swats to behave. Still, this was pretty good for them and Adam was quite proud as they filed out of the church.

Leaving the church, the Cartwrights line up to thank the preacher for another wonderful service.

Already losing patience after the long service, Nathan breaks into his mother's thoughts while they were standing in line. "Ma, can we go play for a little bit?"

Cecily caught Adam's eye asking the unsaid question. She received a nod in reply to allow the children to play. "Only for a few minutes. We have to head over to your Grandpa's soon for lunch. Don't wander too far and keep an eye on your sisters, as well."

As the children ran off to find their friends, Cecily and Adam finished talking briefly to the preacher and then moved over to where Ben, Hoss, and Joe were socializing with several of their own friends.

"It's so nice to see you, Cecily." Cecily turned at the mention of her name to see Margaret Volden standing behind her with her husband Robert close by.

The Volden's owned the local tailor and seamstress shop. Margaret took care of the orders for children and women with her husband focusing on the men. Between the two of them, they had eight children; the oldest was a girl almost 18 and the youngest a boy a year younger than the twins. The rest of the children were speckled between those two about one every couple of years. While the Volden's tried to be friendly, they were just one of those families that Cecily and Adam were annoyed with more often than not. Most times, they tried to avoid the family altogether if at all possible.

"Thank you, Margaret. It's good to see you too. How is everything at home?"

"Busy. It sure keeps you on your toes when you have eight children to keep track of and care for. You'll know how that feels soon from the looks of it." She motioned to Cecily's stomach which by now looked as if it was about ready to burst.

Cecily blushed as she felt Adam's hand on her shoulder. "Yes, only about a month to go now. I'm sure we'll be able to handle everything just fine, though. Don't you worry. If we need help, you'll be the first on our list to consult."

Adam could feel Cecily starting to get a bit aggravated. Normally she had a sweet and quiet disposition, but when something got under her skin, she could become fiery. This subtle hint that they won't be able to handle the house or children after the baby is born, was one of those times. In her opinion, they made it through having a 4-year-old and infant twins; this time would be a piece of cake.

It was time for Adam to intervene before this conversation went much further. "Well, we really must be going. Cecily?"

Cecily was grateful for the interruption and eagerly hooked her arm in Adam's when he offered it to her.

"Good day, Mrs. Volden."

Seeing that Ben was about done with his own conversation, Adam gathered his children up, returning back to their wagon. With everyone loaded up and seated, they then headed off in the direction of Ben's ranch house.

Back at Ben's house, lunch was finishing up. Ben always went overboard with his Sunday lunches. It was to be expected as this was the one time his entire family was able to gather all together without the stress of ranch work.

"Pa, do you mind if I leave the table so I can go set up the chessboard." Clara and Helen had already left minutes ago and when the conversation started to turn towards more grownup things, Nathan quickly got bored.

"Sure, go right ahead."

Little Joe watched as Nathan left the table quicker than a jackrabbit. "Well, I guess that's my cue to leave as well." Joe then left to go find where Nathan had set up the board.

A couple minutes later, Joe found his nephew sitting with his back to him at the little table by his father's office. The board was already set up and he was slowly lining up the chess pieces. "You all ready for your first lesson?"

Nathan looked up startled at his Uncle's voice. "Oh, hi, Uncle Joe. Actually, I think I'm going to have Uncle Hoss teach me how to play."

Joe was a little surprised at this statement as Nathan had been talking about his first lesson with him for over a week now. "Oh, really? Why the sudden change?"

"Well, well…" His voice trailed off as Nathan looked back down towards the board.

Joe pulled out the other chair at the table and after turning it around, straddled it putting his hands on the back of the chair. "Come on, Nate. You know I won't be upset. I just want to know why."

Hesitantly, Nathan looked up at his uncle to see if he really wasn't upset. Not sensing any anger on his face, Nathan explained his reasoning. "Well, Pa might have told me you used to cheat a lot when you were younger. Guess I just want to learn how to play correctly and fairly without cheating."

"Ahh, I see. Well, I'll go get your Uncle Hoss then." Joe stood back up and replaced the chair before heading back towards the dining room.

Back at the table, Little Joe sat down in his spot with a thump.

"What'cha doing back here little brother? I thought you were going to teach Nate all about chess."

"Well, I was. But it appears the reputation about my playing skills got spilled." Little Joe shot Adam a dirty look. "It appears he wants Hoss to teach him now."

Adam put his hands up in surrender at Joe's glare towards him. "Hey, don't be blaming me. All I told Nathan was that you always cheated when you used to play with me. It's the truth, and you know I don't lie to my children."

"Guess I better get over there then. It's not your fault you're a perpetual cheater." Hoss let out a chuckle and gave a big slap on the back to Joe as he walked past him on the way to the chess table.

A couple hours later, Joe and Hoss headed outside to start the evening chores. Ben, Cecily, and Adam had been talking in the great room for the last few hours and they were all overdue for some late afternoon refreshments.

Ben returned to the great room carrying a tray of coffee for Adam and himself and tea for Cecily. After placing it down on the big table in front of the fireplace, he helped himself to the coffee before settling himself down in his favorite red chair.

"So the new baby is going to be here in about a month. Have you two decided on names yet?"

Adam looked over at Cecily before responding. "Well, for a girl we both like Lily and Sarah, but I really love a simple name like Mary."

"And I think I like a pretty name like Grace if it's a girl. Now if it's a boy, I'm partial to Samuel."

"And what about you Adam? Which names do you like if it's a boy?"

"I also like Samuel, but I'm also leaning towards Daniel or Oliver."

"Well, you both have plenty of names to choose from. You might be able to use most of them if you end up having triplets this time."

That statement made Cecily choke on her tea. "Oh no, Mr. Cartwright. Doctor Martin has assured me that there's only one in here."

"I'm sure Paul knows what he's doing, but didn't he say the same thing about your last pregnancy?"

Cecily gave a small nod in agreement as she reached out to grasp Adam's hand.

"Pa, I'm sure Doctor Martin is right this time. And if he's not, well, we'll deal with that when it comes. All that matters right now is that my wife is healthy and happy." Adam gave Cecily's hand a little squeeze.

"Of course, you're right, son. I didn't mean to scare you, Cecily. I'm sure the new child or children will be as lovely as your other three." No response was given, but they all looked up to where Nathan was now sitting over in the corner by the staircase talking quietly to Clara and Helen.

With the birth only a month away, Nathan figured it was time to let the twins in on some of the secrets and tips on being a big sibling to their new brother or sister that he learned when they were born.

"You know Mama is about to have her new baby soon?" Nathan looked expectantly at both of his sisters to make sure they were listening.

Clara and Helen sat in front of Nathan near one of the corners of the great room. They stared up at their older brother, nodding in reply at his first question.

"Things are likely going to change around the house after the new baby is born."

Nathan had only begun talking, but Clara was already becoming anxious about where this conversation was going. "Change? I don't want things to change."

"Well, Mama and Papa will still love us and continue to do stuff with us. But they will have to spend time with the baby so they won't be able to spend as much time with us as they do now. The baby can't do anything for itself, so they have to help it all the time."

"Uh-huh."

"You will both have to patient with both Mama and Papa. I remember both of them being a little worn out and tired. You can't keep pestering them about stupid things or they might lose their temper with you."

"Hey! We don't do that!"

Nathan rolled his eyes at that response. "Sure you don't. Anyway, you both won't be the babies in the family anymore. You two will have to share the attention with your little brother or sister."

Two pouts were received in reply; neither Helen nor Clara liked the sound of that. They liked being the babies in the family and having everyone dote over them.

"Hey, none of that pouting. It really isn't that bad. Once you're an older sibling, you will get to teach the baby how to do things especially as it gets older. And if you ask Mama nicely, she may even let you help feed the baby. It will kind of be like taking care of your dolls, but this 'doll' can play and interact with you. You will have to be gentler with it than you do with your own dolls, though. You know what? Maybe you can pretend your dolls are the new baby over the next couple of weeks. You can practice being gentle and caring for them like it's a real baby. What do you think?"

The twins looked at each other before turning back to Nathan and nodding. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Maybe if Mama sees that we're practicing, she'll let us help when the baby is here."

"Exactly. I think you'll both like being older sisters."