Two weeks later, the town converged on the Grant house with tons of food for the potluck. Elizabeth greeted their guests, her heart full to bursting. Each and every person there was special to her, and as they ate and talked and laughed, she felt an overwhelming gratitude for the town they called home and the people in it.

Eva had called to let them know she would be coming to Hope Valley in early February, right around the baby's due date. She was thrilled to know that she had another grandchild on the way, and her calls had become more frequent. Elizabeth smiled, thinking Eva had finally gotten over her dislike of phones. Now she saw them as a good way to stay connected to her family.

Speaking of family…

Elizabeth sighed, wondering why she hadn't yet found the courage to tell her family that she was expecting a baby. She had written to them after the wedding, letting them know she was married, and hadn't received a response. She took that as a sign that they still hadn't accepted her decision to marry another Mountie, and she was sure they were shocked at how fast their wedding took place.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, Elizabeth smiled at Rosemary as the two women crossed paths. Rosemary had a plate of food that made even Elizabeth raise her brows - pickles, fish, eggs, and sauerkraut. The smell alone made Elizabeth take a step back, her stomach feeling a little nauseated. "Um, Rosemary…"

Rosemary laughed merrily. "You did warn me about pregnancy cravings, Elizabeth. And for some reason, this little one really loves this particular combination. Lee has been laughing about it all week." She shrugged. "But somehow, it just tastes like heaven."

Elizabeth smiled, remembering her own cravings with little Jack. So far she hadn't experienced too many, besides an increased appetite for watermelon. "How are you feeling?" Elizabeth asked.

"Good," Rosemary said. "The morning sickness seems to be passing, for which I am very grateful, and knowing that we have a baby on the way…" Her eyes took on a shine. "I'm just so happy, Elizabeth," she whispered, wiping away a sudden tear. "We didn't think it was possible for us, and now here we are." She laughed. "God had a better plan for us than we had for ourselves."

"He usually does," Elizabeth said, wrapping an arm around Rosemary. "And you have no idea how thankful I am to be going through this with you."

Rosemary smiled. "And I you," she said. Her attention was caught by Fred, who was chasing Allie with a garden snake. "Fred!" she called out, instantly in mother mode as she marched over to her son. "We do not chase our friends with snakes!"

Elizabeth laughed, knowing Allie wasn't actually scared of snakes but letting Fred think she was. She loved watching Rosemary take to her role as mother, and Fred certainly kept her on her toes. Elizabeth thought that was a very good thing. Rosemary kept everyone else on their toes, so it was fun seeing the tables turned for a time.

Nathan came up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Motherhood suits her," he said simply, his eyes on Rosemary and Fred.

Elizabeth nodded. "It sure does."

Nathan placed his hand on her stomach, where their ten-week-old baby was safely cocooned in Elizabeth's womb. "Can you feel her moving yet?" Nathan asked.

Elizabeth glanced up at him, raising a brow in amusement. "Her? I think Allie and Jack are convincing you that this baby is a girl."

Nathan chuckled. "To be honest, I find myself thinking of her as Kathleen already." His grin spread. "We're all going to be in for quite a shock if she ends up being a boy." His arm tightened around her. "But for now, this little one is my Kathleen Elizabeth."

"Kathleen Elizabeth? We're naming her after me too?" Elizabeth asked.

"We most certainly are," Nathan said, grinning at her. "I want my daughter to bear my wife's name."

Elizabeth smiled at him cheekily. "And if Kathleen ends up being a son, we'll just have to name him Nathan or Nathaniel after his father. We can call him Nate for short."

"I wouldn't object," Nathan said, nuzzling Elizabeth's cheek. "But I still think this baby is a girl."

Elizabeth laughed. "Yup, Allie and Jack have gotten to you, my love." She smiled softly. "Though I won't deny that I do hope we have a girl. I'll be happy with either, but somehow I do think this baby will be a girl."

"And I will be happy with either as well," Nathan said, rubbing his hand back and forth over her stomach. "I can't wait to meet this baby. Our baby. Part you, part me." He shook his head in wonder. "What an amazing little miracle."

The rest of the afternoon passed with more food and chatter among the townspeople. Everyone appeared to be having a good time, and that made Elizabeth happy. By the time everyone cleaned up and went back to their homes, Elizabeth was tired but happy. She put Jack down for a nap and then went looking for Nathan. Going into the living room, she found him thumbing through a book on caring for babies. She watched him for a moment, love for him flowing over her. He was taking his responsibility as a father seriously, and it just increased the love she felt for him. She couldn't help herself; she walked over to him, sitting on his lap and wrapping her arms around his neck. Nathan looked surprised but delighted with their situation, and he dropped the book and settled his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. Elizabeth ran a hand through his thick hair, loving how soft it felt against her fingers. Nathan closed his eyes, then leaned forward and kissed Elizabeth's neck.

Allie was playing at Opal's and Jack was asleep, which in Elizabeth's mind meant this was the perfect time for romance with her husband. She felt her heart beating double time as Nathan teased her with light kisses on her face before finally finding her lips with his. She melted into him, drinking in his strength and love. Their kisses grew deeper and more passionate. Elizabeth's stomach was on fire with butterflies, a sensation she hoped she never outgrew. She loved that Nathan could still make her feel butterflies so easily, even though they were married and she was pregnant. With his baby. The thought just added to the fire, and she stood, pulling him up with her and tugging him toward their bedroom.

A little while later, as she lay in his arms, Elizabeth felt waves of contentment rolling over her. Nathan held her with one arm while he ran his other hand slowly up and down her back, letting his fingers tangle in her loose hair every time he reached her upper back. His lips found hers again, this time in a kiss meant to simply give rather than reawaken the passion they had just shared. When he pulled away, Elizabeth just looked in his eyes for several long moments before placing a hand tenderly on his cheek. "I love you, Nathan Grant. So very much."

"And I love you, my darling Elizabeth," he whispered back, pulling her close. He froze for the briefest of moments as their bodies pressed tightly together, then he released her and pulled back, staring down at her stomach. Awe filled his eyes, and Elizabeth followed his gaze to see a tiny, rounded bump just starting to make an appearance. Nathan's mouth dropped, and he reached a hand down to protectively cover the little bump. Tears shone in his eyes, and he laughed as he looked back up at her. "You're showing!"

She chuckled. "Barely. And that's new; I did not see any kind of baby bump this morning."

Nathan's hand remained on her belly, covering their unborn child. "This just makes it feel so much more real," he said, still sounding like he could hardly believe what he was seeing. "Physical proof that our baby is growing inside of you." He reached up to kiss her again, gently and reverently, before leaned down to kiss her tiny baby bump. "I can't wait to meet you, Kathleen," he whispered against her stomach.

Elizabeth giggled, running her fingers through Nathan's hair. "That tickles," she said. "And I'm sure Kathleen can't wait to meet her daddy either." She smiled at him tenderly. "I can't wait to see you holding your very own baby in your arms. And just wait until she's one day interested in boys!"

Nathan shot her a look. "Boys? I don't think so. She's not allowed to so much as look at a boy until she's twenty-five. At least."

That made Elizabeth laugh outright. Nathan laid his head on her stomach, wanting to be close to the baby, while Elizabeth continued to play with his hair. After a little while, she sighed. "I suppose I should make a light supper soon. It's almost four o'clock…" She stopped as Nathan sat upright in their bed, a look of light alarm in his eyes. "It's almost four?"

Elizabeth propped herself up as well, confused by his reaction. "Yes." She could hear Jack calling from his room, and she got out of the bed, slipping into her skirt and blouse. She had been foregoing the corset ever since she learned she was pregnant, and she couldn't believe how much easier it was to breathe without it. She turned her attention to Nathan, who was in the process of buttoning his shirt. "Was there something you needed to do?"

"No...not exactly," he said slowly. His eyes were studying her, and Elizabeth wondered why he suddenly looked so serious. Taking a deep breath, he came over to her, taking her hands in his and holding them to his chest. "I have a surprise for you, Elizabeth."

"Oh?" She smiled, but her smile dimmed slightly when his face remained serious. "Is it a bad surprise?"

"No...nothing bad," Nathan assured her. "But I'm not sure how you are going to feel about it." He chewed his lower lip. "This might have been something I should have told you about, but I was afraid it might fall through, so I decided to keep it to myself until the day it happened."

Elizabeth's brow furrowed. "The day what happened?" she asked, looking up at him curiously.

Nathan looked at her, his love shining in his eyes. She knew that whatever he had done, it had been done out of love. He continued on. "Do you remember the morning after our wedding? When you said you wished your parents would come to Hope Valley?"

Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, I remember." That had not been what she was expecting.

"Well," Nathan continued, "I might have made a call to Hamilton later that day." At Elizabeth's gasp, he hurried on. "I got a hold of your father and introduced myself to him. I explained that you and I had gotten married and given the reasoning for it being so fast." He took a deep breath. "I invited him and your mother to come to Hope Valley once our home was built, so they could stay with us."

Elizabeth's mouth dropped. "You invited my parents?" she asked, incredulous.

Nathan nodded. "And the surprise part...well...they're on their way. In fact, I meant to tell you earlier today, but I lost track of time. They said they would be here around 4:00 when I talked to them yesterday."

"You've been talking to my parents," Elizabeth said slowly, unsure how she felt about that. Her family had been so resistant to her marrying Nathan, she hadn't even thought of him trying to talk to them about it. And now they were coming to Hope Valley at his request. She glanced at the clock. It was 3:57. She looked back at Nathan. "And they're coming around 4…"

A knock sounded at the door. Elizabeth felt a slight panic rising. "Nathan! I can't greet my parents straight from our bed!" Her hands flew to her head. "My hair must be a mess!"

Nathan chuckled softly and kissed the tip of her nose. "I'll welcome them, Elizabeth. And I'll bring Jack with me so they can meet him. You take the time you need to get ready and process this." His eyes held uncertainty. "Did I...did I make the wrong choice? I just wanted you to get your wish to have your parents visit." A vulnerability shone from those blue depths, and Elizabeth felt any resistance melt away. She placed a hand on his cheek, tears shining in her eyes.

"You did good, Nathan. Thank you." She reached up to kiss him quickly, then disappeared into their bathroom to make herself presentable.

Nathan took another deep breath as he lifted Jack from his crib. "Here goes nothing," he said under his breath. William Thatcher had been polite but distant on the phone the few times they had talked, and Nathan wasn't sure what to expect. "Let's go say hello to your grandparents," he told his son, carrying him to the door. Pulling it open, he came face to face with William and Grace Thatcher.

"Mr. and Mrs. Thatcher," Nathan said, inclining his head respectfully. "Welcome to Hope Valley."

William put out his hand a little gruffly, but when Nathan took his hand he found William's grip solid and strong. "Call me William, son," he said. "You're family now, after all."

Nathan felt his eyes go wide in surprise, but he smiled. "Yes, sir." He turned his attention to Grace next. "Mrs. Thatcher, it's nice to meet you. I can see where Elizabeth gets her beauty."

Grace chuckled, her eyes fixed on the child in Nathan's arms. "It's Grace, Nathan. You're our son-in-law, and even if we weren't thrilled with the idea initially, clearly you were Elizabeth's choice." She smiled at Jack. "Now, who is this handsome young man?"

"This is your grandson, Jack," Nathan said, handing him over to Grace. "Jack, say hello to your grandma and your grandpa."

"Hewo," Jack said, looking at Grace in curiosity. Tears sprang to Grace's eyes as she held her grandson for the first time. "He's beautiful," she whispered, pressing a kiss to his cheek and holding him close. "We're going to get along just splendidly," she told the little boy, taking him to the settee. Jack squirmed to get down, then pulled his box of blocks from their corner of the room. Holding them up, he looked at Grace. "Buiwd bwocks?" he asked.

To Nathan's astonishment, Hamilton royalty Grace Thatcher lowered herself to the floor and started building a tower with her grandson. Before Nathan had time to process that, Elizabeth walked into the room. She had swept her hair into a simple chignon, and she'd changed from her skirt and blouse into a dress. She came to a halt when she saw her mother on the floor, playing with her son. "Mother?" she asked, her mouth gaping. Nathan guessed Elizabeth had never seen Grace Thatcher playing on the floor with a child.

"Hello, darling," Grace responded with a soft smile. "You have a beautiful boy here."

"Hello, Elizabeth," William said, giving his daughter a hug.

"Hello, Father," she responded, still looking like she was unsure how to respond to their presence and the unexpectedly warm greetings. She looked between her parents. "You came to Hope Valley."

"We did," William answered with a smile at Elizabeth, before turning his smile to Nathan. "Your husband called to invite us. I must admit I was skeptical at first, and none too willing to come, but your Nathan convinced us that it would be a good idea. He also said it was going to be a surprise for you."

"It was definitely that," Elizabeth said. Nathan noticed she seemed to be relaxing a bit. He let out a sigh of relief, thankful that this was going better than he could have expected, especially since he had sprung the news on Elizabeth less than ten minutes ago. She came to stand next to Nathan, wrapping an arm around him. "I'm glad you're here," she said to her parents, smiling at first her father, then her mother. "Because you've now met Nathan, and little Jack, and soon you'll meet Allie. And also," she glanced up at Nathan, who gave her a nod while a tender smile played on his lips. Elizabeth pressed a hand to her stomach. The bump was hidden beneath her dress, but Nathan saw both William and Grace's eyes follow Elizabeth's hand there. "We're going to be having a baby," Elizabeth finished in a quiet voice.

Her words were met with surprise, but then Grace got up from the floor and enfolded her daughter in a hug, tears in her eyes. "Oh, Elizabeth!" she said, hugging her tightly. "That's wonderful news."

William joined their little circle, wrapping his arms around both his daughter and wife. "I'm so happy for you, sweetheart," he said, pressing a kiss to Elizabeth's forehead. He turned and held a hand out to Nathan. "Congratulations, son."

Nathan heard Elizabeth's soft intake of breath when William called him "son." He smiled at his father-in-law, thankful that he had granted Nathan's request to come visit their little town. "Thank you, William."

William stood to his full height, a grin breaking free. "This calls for a celebration. Dinner is on me at the cafe. Let's get settled in, and then head into town."

"Sounds lovely," Grace agreed.

"Right this way," Elizabeth said, gesturing down the hall. "I'll show you to your room." As her parents headed toward the guest room, Elizabeth reached up to give Nathan a quick kiss. "Thank you, Nathan," she whispered. "This is a wonderful gift."

Nathan kissed her back, running a gentle hand down her cheek. "I'm glad you're happy, my love."