Chapter One Hundred & Thirty-Seven: Mishaps and Misunderstandings

Two days had passed since Rosemary had dragged Elizabeth to the Infirmary to see Carson.

Two days filled with a flurry of activity in the Grant Household, as their train was leaving tomorrow morning, promptly at 8 AM!

Nathan had taken Archie, William, and the Children for one last fishing trip to his and Allie's favorite fishing hole, and Little Jack had been beyond himself that he was allowed to go with the Men and his Awee!

Needless to say, Elizabeth had been a bit hurt when her Son gave her very explicit instructions at the front door.

"Mama stay home with Gwammas!" he said firmly with his little finger pointing at his Mama for emphasis.

Nathan just chuckled and pulled his wife close to him, as both Archie and William did their best to stifle their own chuckles!

"It's just a fisherman thing, Darling! Besides you don't want to hook those innocent little worms, now do you?"

"Not particularly! But I don't want to be unwanted either!"

"My Love, you could never be unwanted! Not by any of us! Jack just wants to spread his wings with us guys, Allie included, because he sees his sister as his little playmate!"

"Smooth, Chief Inspector. I suppose you're right! But at least think of me!"

She kissed her Husband, her Daughter, and then her Son, who kissed his Mama, and quickly turned to run out the front door, pulling Allie with him.

"Always, Love! Always wonderful thoughts of you!" but Nathan couldn't help winking and chuckling all over again as he released her...

Meanwhile, Godfrey was hard at work overseeing the disbursement of the newly cleaned, pressed, and delivered laundry to the appropriate rooms throughout the house in preparation for packing.

But when Elizabeth followed him into Jack's room, she was a bit surprised, then bewildered.

"Hmm. That's funny. Little Jack's sock drawer is open and it's empty! Wonder where all his socks are?"

"Haven't a clue, Miss, but no worries, I shall find them!"

Elizabeth could only watch, growing more puzzled, as Godfrey swept out of Master Jack's room on his mission to recover the socks.

She soon decided to stay and do a much closer search of her Son's room in an effort to find the missing socks closer to home before expanding her own search...

"Miss, I've covered every single inch of this house, and have found nothing that remotely resembles a child's sock!"

"And I've covered every inch of Jack's bedroom and found nothing, except a can of rancid worms that were apparently left over from his last fishing trip! I'm going to have to start frisking my own Son! Oh, Godfrey, did you check the enclosed back porch? Maybe they're out there!"

"Just a moment, Miss."

Elizabeth followed him, looking first into Prince Charming's and Cinderella's bed, but the kittens were nowhere to be found, and neither were Jack's socks.

"The kittens are probably off playing with their Mother somewhere, Miss. That's not unusual," explained the Butler.

"Since I'm back here, anyway, I think I'll go check on the dogs, Godfrey. They didn't go with Nathan and his fishing party, did they?"

"No, Miss! But they've already been fed!"

"But shouldn't they be where we can see them?"

"Yes, they usually stay close by!"

"Rex, Reggie!" yelled Elizabeth as loudly as she could.

She also noticed that she saw no kittens running around the yard either.

After a few minutes, both dogs came running, wet as could be, meaning they had been down to the water's edge, if not actually fully into the water!

But after the love she gave them, instead of following her into the house to be dried at her urging, they barked at her, and turned their head back towards the water, as though they were trying to tell her something.

Had she not known the Children were with Nathan, she would have been very alarmed!

But even knowing they were safe with Nathan, she was still concerned.

So, she followed the dogs who took off in a race with each other.

Elizabeth ran after them, all the way to the water's edge, where she gasped.

There was Prince Charming, hanging from a limb over the water!

"Oh, no! Prince Charming, you stay!" which was superfluous instruction from the Teacher, as the poor little cat seemed to be caught in some moss that was hanging in the branches.

She reached as far as she could, but there was no way she could even touch him, much less grab him safely in the palm of her hand.

Elizabeth looked around.

She was going to have to wade into the water.

So she sat on a nearby log, breathed a heavy sigh, and started taking off her hose and her shoes.

Then, she grabbed a big stick to help her balance from stone to stone in the muddy water and tucked up her skirt with the other hand.

"Good kitten, Prince Charming! You stay right there. I'm coming to get you!"

She slipped on the first stone, gingerly re-balancing herself when she looked down and saw a water snake glide by.

She shivered, as here she was the one who didn't even like to see worms, much less, snakes of any kind.

She waited till she was sure the snake was far away, and gingerly stepped to the second stone hidden in the water, but she still couldn't reach the little kitten, who by this time was distressfully meowing loudly for his Mother.

"One more stone. You've got this, Elizabeth! It's okay, Prince Charming, I've almost got you!"

She held up her skirts back up, and when she reached the third stone, Rex and Reggie waded out to help her by standing guard next to her on both sides.

"Thanks, Boys! At least you'll keep the snakes away!" and she shivered at the thought that there might be more.

She stretched as much as she possibly could, reaching her hand to the little kitten, letting her skirt fall into the water.

"Come to Mama, Prince! Everything's okay!" but she was a few inches short of nabbing him.

"Okay, one more stone!"

The dogs moved out into the water with her, in their mind protecting her.

She stepped onto the fourth stone, moving as far to the edge as she could, then reaching up, she prayed the cat would be within reach.

"Come to me, Prince Charming. Come to me!" she spoke in a coaxing tone.

But then she realized the little kitten couldn't because it really was entangled in the moss, much worse than she had previously seen.

She couldn't take the stick and knock the moss down, because the kitten would fall with it.

She really wasn't sure what she was going to do, but the dogs suddenly were wagging their tails, and as she followed their eyes, thank goodness there came Fairy Godmother, seemingly out of nowhere!

"Good Girl!" and then Elizabeth got a sinking feeling. "Oh, no! Where is Cinderella? She wasn't on the porch either!"

She started looking around frantically, as Fairy Godmother made her way quickly to Prince Charming, deftly pulling the moss away from him with her mouth and paws, then gathering him in her mouth, and making her descent.

As the dogs went further out, Elizabeth finally heard it.

Though, when she looked out to where she heard the sound, she didn't hear anything, except the water.

But never underestimate a Mother's intuition with her Children, whether human or animal!

Fairy Godmother also heard that faint cry, and unceremoniously dropped Prince Charming on the bank.

The Cat perked her ears again and swam straight toward the soft mewing.

Elizabeth made her way back to the bank and quickly picked up Prince Charming, who was shaking, he was so frightened.

She watched as Fairy Godmother impersonated her namesake and swam with little Cinderella clawing her back to where Elizabeth was sitting with Prince Charming.

Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief, reaching out to pet Fairy Godmother for a job well done, then she petted Rex and Reggie, for had it not been for them, she wouldn't have even known the kittens had been in danger.

"Good boys!"

As she gathered Cinderella from Fairy Godmother, Elizabeth and her menagerie of animals started up the bank, but instead of going around the barn in the direction she had come, she took a shortcut, moving toward the other side of the barn.

But not before she happened to look down to make sure Fairy Godmother was following them, although she needn't have worried.

Fairy Godmother, a wonderful Mother, was not about to leave her kittens, as she had some disciplining to do!

"But what is that knitted wad right in front of her?"

Fairy Godmother even swatted it closer for Elizabeth to look at.

Elizabeth bent to pick it up, still holding the kittens, and realized instantly what it was.

"Jack's sock! But what in the world is it doing out here?"

Looking further ahead, she moaned.

"Oh, no!"

The huge fire ring they used to burn trash in, was scattered with charred socks around its edge.

"Oh, Jack! Whatever were you thinking?"

There wasn't a single sock that was salvageable, except possibly the one she had picked up, and that was, as said, a single sock, not a pair...

As soon as she reached their house, she hurriedly called Rosemary.

"Rosemary, do you have the car? I have a slight emergency!"

"Yes, I do. What's wrong?"

"We need to make a trip to the Mercantile! I'll tell you about my morning on the way!" moaned Elizabeth.

"Well, Godfrey, the cases of both the missing kittens AND the missing socks have been solved! Just call me Inspector Grant!"

Godfrey couldn't help but laugh at his Lilibet's exasperation. This was going to be interesting. And he couldn't wait to hear all about it.

"Here, sit. I'll pour you some hot tea and then tell me all about both cases!" chuckled Godfrey…

In the car, as she told Rosemary her investigative stories, they both couldn't help but laugh.

"Although it was rather a close call for Cinderella and Prince Charming. If Rex and Reggie hadn't barked and alerted both me and Fairy Godmother, I'm not sure we would have had our happy ending."

"Well, thank goodness, you did! Can you imagine the Children? And right before you leave on your trip, too! They would have been devastated. Oh, do you need us to take care of the pets while you all are gone?"

"I appreciate that, Rosemary. But Adeline and Bill are going to be staying at our house, and you know what an animal lover Adeline is! I'm sure they will be very well-taken-care-of!"

"Oh, that's great. I'll love having the company! Adeline's the best!"

"You know, it's the sock caper that has me puzzled. Whatever possessed Jack to bring his entire sock drawer outside to where we build our fires? I can't even imagine what was in his little head!"

"With Children, it's hard to say, Elizabeth. You know that better than anyone!"

"I suppose so. It's just that Jack has never done anything like this before. And who knows if the Mercantile will have any socks in his size, much less enough to replace an entire drawer full before our trip!"

"Well, as long as they have a few, it will be fine. In fact, maybe he could wear Frederic's."

"That's sweet of you, Rosemary. But I hate to take your Son's socks when it was my Son who decided all of his should be burned!"

"You don't think he could have possibly started the fire, do you?"

"Oh, no! Not possible. Everything's very high out of reach. I think he must have just put the socks there knowing they would eventually be burned. But why?"

"Well, we're here. So, let's go see what we can find!"

Rosemary got out of her car on the driver's side and walked around to where Elizabeth had gotten out, looping her own arm through her Best Friend's arm.

"You know, I'm thrilled about your trip, but Lee and I are really going to miss you all. And I'm especially going to miss my Best Friend!"

"Me too, Rosemary! But there will be cards and lots of gifts! Although I doubt that I can do as well as you always do!"

Smiling they walked up the Mercantile steps together, not realizing that none other than Dr. Carson Shepherd was at the Counter talking to Ned.

Elizabeth noticed he flashed a glance that could only be described as consternated, toward Rosemary, while quickly nodding his head to acknowledge them, and then continuing on talking to Ned.

Rosemary, just like two days ago at the Infirmary, had not even noticed the 'look,' which sorry to say, was the exact same frustrating look being given today!

Elizabeth didn't know if this was a good thing or not, and she wasn't at all sure these two would ever come to agreeable terms in their physician-patient relationship, but right now, she was here for a different matter, entirely.

"Florence, I'm afraid I have a dilemma. I'm in need of as many socks as you have that will fit Little Jack!"

"Oh, Elizabeth, I just sold all but our last pair! I do have the next size up, though."

"Are you sure," she moaned. "Oh, okay! I'll take your last pair and three pairs of the next size up!"

"Sounds like a sock emergency!"

"Oh, you have no idea. And we leave on our trip in the morning!"

"Oh, I have an idea alright! Mine emptied his entire drawer of socks one morning into his Father's tackle box to go fishing. When he was caught afterward, he said he wanted to keep the fish that he caught, warm! Thankfully, that day, he didn't catch many fish! Only three little minnows, I think! But each of the three got their own individual sock! I must say their odiferous smell never left those socks, no matter how many times I washed them!"

The three women burst out laughing.

"Now surely Little Jack didn't do as badly as that!"

"I don't know, Florence, he might have topped it. Jack took his entire drawer of socks and apparently placed them on the trash pile to burn. And yes, they were burned! I was able to salvage one sock, which had obviously blown away before it could get scorched!"

The women bent over laughing, which did Elizabeth a world of good!

"Okay, you win! Rosemary, Frederic is next. Let's see if he can top these two!" laughed Florence.

"Well, good morning officially, Ladies," interrupted Carson. "Rosemary, could I speak with you a moment?"

"Of course, Carson," and Rosemary stepped toward him and walked to the front entrance where the Good Doctor walked her outside.

"Rosemary, you blindsided me the other day! And I just want to apologize for the way I reacted. It wasn't very professional of me."

His actual first response, if he remembered correctly, had been something along the lines…

'Oh, no, not again! Please, Dear Lord, not again…'

"Whatever are you talking about?" Rosemary looked at Carson, as puzzled as ever.

Then he realized that as usual, Rosemary had been in her own world at her self-scheduled appointment, oblivious to everything he had said except what she wanted to hear, as usual, and hadn't even noticed his less than patient words. But the implications of going through another pregnancy with Rosemary LeVeaux Coulter were still spinning in his head.

And the thought had even crossed his mind, that perhaps he should just give up medicine altogether, at least the obstetrics part!

Yes, getting little Violet into this world had been one of the most difficult medical tasks he had ever encountered.

Not the actual birth at all; aside from Rosemary's histrionics, that had been a relative breeze.

And Violet was the perfect infant, healthy as could be!

No, it was the nine months that seemed like a hundred he had had to live through before that blessed event actually occurred!

"Rosemary," he spoke evenly, patiently. "Would it be possible for you and Elizabeth to stop by the Infirmary on your way home?"

"Is something wrong?"

"No, Rosemary! I have a book I want you to read and I think I may have been a bit rattled the other day when you shock…er, surprised me with your questions. I think perhaps I wasn't as thorough as I should have been."

"Well, if you insist Carson, but Elizabeth does have a summer-long trip to prepare for!" declared Rosemary, admonishing him already.

"I will not be rattled, I will not be rattled.." muttered Carson in a low breath.

"What?" shrieked Rosemary.

"N…nothing! Nothing at all! I'll see you when you finish here!"

"Of course, Carson," agreed Rosemary, eyeing his back contemptuously, but looking up to see Elizabeth walking down the steps of the Mercantile.

"Elizabeth, Carson is acting very strange. Very strange, indeed! Did I miss something at our visit the other day?"

"Possibly," Elizabeth was thinking of the Doctor's ashen face for one, among many other overt possible clues and signals that had seemed to completely fly over Rosemary's head.

"Why would you ask that?" she asked weakly, not wanting to get into a free-for-all debate with her Best Friend before leaving on her trip.

"Hmph! He wants to see me, us, I don't know, at the infirmary. Now, of all days! I told him you were much too busy getting ready for your trip. But the man insists! He has no consideration of anyone else's schedule. Do you think all doctors are like this? Now if he thinks, he's going to hover over me like a Mother Hen, again, he's got another thing coming! I simply don't have time for all that nonsense! Write this, write that. I have two children and a husband plus a job to do, not to even mention all the social events for this community! Of which he benefits!"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, almost as convincingly as her Daughter, as Rosemary got into the driver's side of the car, and she, herself, eased into the passenger side, bringing her hand up to her face to hide her reactions…

Inside the Infirmary, sitting resolutely at his desk, Carson was clearly nervous.

Where was Faith when you needed her?

However, in an effort to be conciliatory, he had made fresh coffee, and poured two steaming cups as soon as he heard the Ladies come in, with Rosemary already in a dither!

"Ladies, thank you both for coming. I have fresh Coffee for you to drink as I…I mean, WE chat!"

Elizabeth thought to herself, 'I bet he wishes it was only him chatting. Here, we go again!'

True to form, Rosemary took over, yet again, and Elizabeth noticed Carson go completely pale, just like he had done two days ago.

Funny, he never did that when Elizabeth visited him alone!

"Carson, I don't understand why you have to drag us back in here when we were just here two days ago! Has there been some new medical revelation that's occurred in the last forty-eight hours? Surely not!"

"Rosemary, Elizabeth, if I may have the floor…"

"Sh, Rosemary," hissed the Schoolteacher, perceptively yielding the floor to the very frustrated Doctor with a nod of her head.

"If we're to go this pregnancy route again, Ladies, I have made out a list of every single thing I need you to do for me. If there is anything missing from the list at your scheduled appointments, that is fine. I will simply refer you to a Doctor in Buxton."

From their joint visit two days ago, Elizabeth knew Carson meant business.

But Rosemary was still oblivious to what all this was about, so she simply snatched the paper from his hands, alternately glancing up and down the long list, interspersed with pointed glaring at Carson!

"This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. I have told you before, Carson, I don't keep records of things like this!"

"Which made your pregnancy a most difficult one for me as your Doctor! Rosemary, I want more than anything for you to have another child, but I honestly…" he was having trouble getting the words out. "I honestly don't think I'm the right Doctor for you."

There he had said it.

"What in the world are you talking about? Of course, you're the right Doctor for me. I was a good patient, Carson, I just couldn't keep up with all the information."

"But Rosemary, this time around, you must keep up with the information, or I will no longer be your Doctor."

"Well, I never!"

"Yes, I've heard that about a million times before. And to be perfectly frank, Rosemary, I felt like your pregnancy aged me ten years! I can't go through it again…I simply can't."

Rosemary was suddenly in a blustery of tears, with the Good Doctor not far behind, although he was fighting with all he had to muster his strength to stay firm.

"Unless, Rosemary, you follow the instructions to a tee that I've outlined for both you and Elizabeth, as well as any other obstetrics patient I might encounter from now on. Those are my new rules, and if you can abide by them, I will more than happily and proudly be your Doctor. If you cannot, I'll be happy to refer you out of town."

There was dead silence, with Rosemary still looking at the paper.

But Carson meant business.

"I suppose if I have to, I can write this stuff down. But really, Carson, the times I have to go the bathroom? I mean shouldn't that be private?"

"Rosemary, we've had this discussion before, and I realize that might not be important to you, but once you are pregnant, that information is very important for me. As your Doctor, I need to know. That also goes for each and every single item listed on the page. I'm not singling you out, Rosemary. All of my patients will receive this same list. But it's your decision whether or not you want to comply."

"Well, of course, my decision is to stay with you, Carson! I suppose if Elizabeth will help me stay on track, I can do all this mumbo jumbo…"

"Rosemary, that is the point! This is NOT mumbo jumbo. These are bits of information that I must have in order to do my job effectively. Listen, I know you want the healthiest baby in the world. That's what I want for you, too. Just please help me give that to you. Er, after Lee of course gives that to you," he said with the reddest face Elizabeth had ever seen, that he was trying desperately to hide under his large hand!

Rosemary had a way an inimitable way of rattling this young Doctor, even when she was saying nothing!

Elizabeth cleared her throat.

"I think we should honor Carson's wishes, Rosemary. After all, he is the expert!"

"Well, of course, I'll do my best to honor them! I promise, Carson. Now, if that's all, we really must go!"

"No, wait! That's not all! I found a reference in my personal library that I thought might encourage you and Lee as you entertain thoughts of a second pregnancy," and Carson reached into his desk drawer, handing the book to Rosemary.

"Hmph! This is very thoughtful, Carson. Thank you! Lee and I really appreciate this! Now, we've taken up much too much of your time. You have a good day, Carson. And no more talk about a Buxton Doctor!" she called as she waltzed out the door with a smile.

"What just happened?" wailed Carson into the empty room. "Did I make any headway at all?"

Getting Rosemary LeVeaux Coulter to be an even halfway decent patient still seemed positively hopeless!"

"Dear God, please help me survive this!"

And he threw his head back, running his fingers through his hair.

Although he wasn't sure how much hair he'd have left if Rosemary did indeed get pregnant again…

"Godfrey," whispered Nathan as discreetly as he could. "Godfrey!"

"Oh, yes, Sir! What can I…" called Godfrey as he ran to the back door.

Then Godfrey's eyes fell to Little Jack, who was covered from head to toe in mud!

"I have to clean the fish. Could you possibly get this Little One cleaned before his Mother sees him! She'll never let him go fishing again! Or if you prefer to clean the fish, I can take care of cleaning him."

"Oh, no, Sir! I'll take care of the Little One, with pleasure, over the fish!"

Nathan breathed a sigh of relief and handed Jack over to Godfrey.

"You go with your Uncle Godfrey and be a good boy, Jack! We've got to get you clean before…well, we've just got to get you cleaned up!"

"Consider it done, Sir. Enjoy your fish!" laughed Godfrey as he took Master Jack's hand and led him discreetly through the house to the smaller bathroom upstairs.

"I fished! I fished!" cried Little Jack, still as excited about his outing as ever.

"You, most certainly did, Master Jack! That, you most certainly did..."

Their last Dinner in Hope Valley was a huge Family Affair with Bill and Adeline both in attendance, as a thank you for their staying and watching over the Grant House in their absence.

"The fish is delicious, Nathan! Might be the best I've ever had!"

"Thanks, Bill. They were biting today like mad. There are plenty on ice for you to fix tomorrow, too!"

"You have to clean them, Bill. Don't you dare look at me!" announced Adeline, pointedly.

"Already done, Adeline! The filets are ready to fry!"

"Thank you, Nathan. That was so thoughtful! This one always tries to pawn that task off on anyone gullible enough to do it! And I bit the first time but never again!"

Everyone laughed.

The Avery's, the Thatcher's, and the Grants were all soon deep in conversation around the dining room table.

Thankfully, Elizabeth hadn't gotten home early enough to see her Son covered in mud or to speak with him privately about his missing socks.

That was going to have to wait till after dinner!

But ironically, it was during dinner, that Jack, himself brought it up!

"Mama, need socks!"

"What, Son?"

"Need socks for twain."

"Jack, now that you've brought it up, exactly what happened to your socks?"

"They went away!"

"Where did they go, Jack?"

"I don't 'member."

"What's wrong, Mama?" asked Allie.

"Well, Jack's sock drawer appears to be empty, and we've searched everywhere!"

"Did you find them?"

"Yes, but they were outside. Allie, has Jack ever slipped outside by himself that you know of?"

"No ma'am. He won't even go out on the back porch without me going with him."

"I 'member, Mama. I put in twash fo fier."

"But why would you do that, Jack?"

"I don't 'member."

"I do! The book you gave me to read to him a couple of nights ago had a scene where the Little Boy, Jackson, warmed his socks by the fire!" whispered Allie.

"And it's been so hot, we haven't had fires in the fireplaces!" moaned Elizabeth, with everything finally becoming very clear.

"I got muddy too," Jack announced.

Nathan's wide eyes went straight to Godfrey's, who quickly cleared his throat.

"Master Jack, how about some more mashed potatoes?"

"Pwease!"

Jack clapped his little hands, then busily spooned potatoes into his little mouth, as fast as he could get them in!

Nathan and Godfrey breathed a collective sigh of relief.

Allie caught the joint look.

Because she had seen Little Jack when he was covered in the mud, before she had stopped to say goodbye to Opal, Allie smartly steered the conversation back to the missing socks!

"In the book, Jackson warmed his socks and his Sister's socks too, so I guess I'm lucky!"

"Yes, indeed. At least there's that to be thankful for…"

As Nathan dressed for bed, he realized Elizabeth was still stewing over something, but he hadn't been privy to her conversation with Allie, so he wasn't really sure what it was about, only that she seemed miffed at Little Jack over something.

Surely, it wasn't the mud!

"Sweetheart, anything on your mind?" he asked softly, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"I suppose it's just been a long day. Prince Charming got stuck in moss on a limb down by the water. And Cinderella somehow was sitting on a rock clear on the other side! Thank goodness Rex and Reggie alerted me and took me to where they were. I had a hard time getting them, and wouldn't have been able to at all unless Fairy Godmother had come to the rescue!"

"Thank goodness they're okay!"

"Yes, the Children would have been devastated had things gone badly. But, Nathan, before that I noticed Jack's sock drawer pulled out and every one of his socks was missing. And on my way back from getting the kittens, I stumbled on one lone sock out by the fire pit. Of course, it was Jack's. He says he doesn't remember everything, except for putting them in the 'twash to fier.' But Allie reminded me the story I had given her to read to him had a little boy in it who warmed his socks by the fire. And I suppose since we haven't had a fire in the fireplace lately, that's why he put them in the trash. Every single one of them, except the one I found, was burned along with everything else!"

Nathan couldn't help but smile.

"I'm sorry. But those things do happen with little boys, you know!"

"Florence said her little boy took all of his socks with him fishing, so he could warm the fish he caught!"

"Now that's good! But I can do you one better!"

"You can?"

"It was a really cold winter. I was about four and our sow had had quite the litter of piglets. With snow all around, it was getting colder and colder, and I decided the piglets needed warming. So, I snuck all my socks out to the barn, and piglet by piglet fitted each one in two new pairs of socks! Now, those things squirm like nobody's business! So, let me tell you, that was no small feat for anyone, much less a four-year-old boy. No pun intended, of course! But mission finally accomplished if you get my drift! Although it took a good two hours!"

Elizabeth laughed out loud, finally releasing her tension from the long day.

But then she softened.

"You are the sweetest Man I know, and now I know you were the sweetest Little Boy, too!"

She kissed her Husband tenderly, running her hands through his hair.

"But boy, I bet those piglets hated you!"

"Oh, they were mad as wet hens! Ran from me every time they saw me after that!" chuckled Nathan.

"But what I don't get is, who took the trash out and why didn't they notice them?"

"Oops, guilty party! I took the trash out! But Dad came out to talk to me as soon as I had dumped it. Sorry, I'll do a once-through next time!"

"No worries, but as inquisitive as our Son is, I suppose it's not a bad idea!"

"So, noted! Lisbeth, one other thing. We had a grand time fishing today! But…"

"But what? Did Little Jack get hurt?"

"No, Darling! He didn't get hurt. I watched him like a hawk. Although he was a typical little boy."

"What does that mean?"

"Well, I didn't want to tell you, but boys, mud, and a fishing hole sort of obligatorily go together. Forgive me?"

"Yes, I forgive you. But I already knew!" she laughed.

"How did you know? I was afraid if you saw him covered in mud from head to toe, you'd never let him go fishing again!"

"I might have seen the muddy towels before Godfrey took them to the washroom!"

"Remind me to never try to hide something from you again!"

"You'd better not! Because, Chief Inspector Grant, your sins will always find you out, as long as there's a good Wife around!"

"I don't know about sins, but I do know I want to enjoy our last night in our wonderful bed before our big trip! Are you ready to sleep, Love?"

"Funny, but with everything packed and ready for in the morning, sleeping is the furthest thing from my mind, Darling Husband!"

"I'm so glad. And funny, it's the same for me!" he mused as he kissed her neck. "But, speaking of said trip, with two Children, two sets of Parents, and Godfrey along, the next portion of our Honeymoon is bound to be quite the memorable adventure, Mrs. Grant!"

"Isn't it though?" she laughed.

With that and two very low chuckles that wouldn't seem to stop, the Grants, very excitedly for tomorrow, but unsleepily for tonight, retired to their bed...