Jack kissed my cheek as he passed me on his way to our room. "Hi, Beth."

I grabbed his arm and pulled him to me, kissing him soundly. "Hi."

"Give me a minute to change out of my uniform, and I'll be back to help with the decorations."

"Okay."

I stepped into the spare room, pulling a box from the closet. I smiled as I glanced around the room, knowing that it would soon be our baby's nursery. I made my way back downstairs, and everything suddenly went dark.

A moment later, I came to. "Jack?!" I sat at the foot of the stairs, my hand going numb. Tears stung my eyes. "Jack…" My voice cracked.

"Elizabeth?" He rushed down the stairs when he saw me. "What happened?"

I took a deep breath. "I think I fainted and missed the last step and fell. I can't feel my hand. Take me to the hospital, please."

He lifted me in his arms and carried me to the car. He kept glancing at me as he drove. "How are you doing?"

I felt on the verge of breaking into tears. "Jack, what if something happened to the baby when I fell? What if…?" I couldn't finish the thought. "I couldn't live with myself if something happened. It's my fault."

"Elizabeth…" He reached over and touched my leg. "I would tell you not to worry about that, but I know that won't stop you. We can ask the doctor to check on the baby while we're there, okay?"

I nodded and put my good hand on my stomach. The numbness in my wrist was dissipating, being replaced by pain. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to will away the tears I felt forming.

Jack walked me into the emergency room, careful not to bump my wrist. He filled out paperwork while I explained what happened to a doctor. I begged the doctor to check on the baby first, and he finally agreed. He put a splint on my wrist before sending me to have an ultrasound.

Jack sat beside the bed while the technician checked on the baby. It seemed to take forever before the technician found the baby and we finally heard a heartbeat.

Jack squeezed my hand, and I felt tears rush down my face. Our baby was okay.

We left the hospital a few hours later, my wrist secured in a blue cast. I had fractured a bone in my wrist and would be required to remain in the cast for four weeks; if everything went well, it would be off just before Christmas. Thankfully, it wasn't on my dominant arm, so I wouldn't have any trouble in the classroom.

I was still worried about the baby. Even though we had heard the heartbeat, I still felt like something was going to go wrong. The doctors reassured me that everything looked perfect, but they had instructed me to take it easy for a few weeks.

When we returned home, Jack helped me up to our room and into the bed, insisting that I spend the remainder of the day resting. He kissed my forehead and pulled the quilt up to cover me.

"I'm going to let the dogs out and get you a glass of water. I'll be right back."

I curled up on my side and took a deep breath, trying to keep my emotions in check. I closed my eyes when I heard Jack's footsteps on the stairs. I didn't want to talk, and I hoped that he would think I had fallen asleep.

"Elizabeth?"

I didn't move when he spoke. I heard him set the glass of water on the nightstand before he slid into the bed beside me. He draped his arm across me, resting his hand on my stomach.

"It's going to be okay, Beth." His voice was soft, soothing.

I rolled over to face him, tucking my head beneath his chin. "I don't want to talk about it."

"That's okay. We don't have to. But I'm still here if you change your mind."

I shook my head. "I just want you to hold me."

He kissed the top of my head and brought his arms around me, pulling me close.

...

I got up in the middle of the night and pulled on my robe, having been unable to sleep. I sat on the couch, staring at the stockings hanging above the fireplace. Jack had surprised me the day before with a stocking for the baby. It hung between ours, a reminder of what we could have lost.

I brought my hand to my stomach. "Hi, baby. I'm so sorry that I almost hurt you today." Tears filled my eyes. My only job was to keep the baby safe and warm and healthy, and I jeopardized that. Even though it had been an accident, I still felt like it was my fault. Things could have ended so differently. "Your dad and I love you so, so much. I'm so happy that you're okay. Please stay okay."

The longer I sat on the sofa, the more I realized that I was not going to sleep any more that night. I tightened my robe and headed toward the kitchen.

Twenty minutes later, I slid a tray of cookies into the oven. I sat on the floor, leaning back against the cabinets while I watched them bake.

"Beth, what are you doing? It's the middle of the night." Jack rubbed his eyes as he entered the room.

"I couldn't sleep. I bake when I can't sleep."

He helped me up, pulling me into his embrace. "Everything is going to be okay."

I took a shaky breath, tears rolling down my cheeks as all of my emotions from the day were released. "I know, but we could've lost the baby."

"But we didn't." He put his hand on my stomach. "Our little one is still snug and warm and healthy in there."

I leaned my head on his shoulder. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you, too." He kissed my temple.

We stood in silence for a few minutes, his arms around my waist, holding me close. I closed my eyes and breathed him in, relishing the warmth of his body against mine. He lifted my chin and kissed me softly.

I stood on my toes and kissed him again, linking my hands behind his neck as best as I could with the cast on my arm, playing with the hair on the back of his head.

I leaned my head on his chest. We swayed slowly, dancing in the dim light shining above the stove. I felt his heartbeat beneath my cheek as he tightened his arms around me.

The oven buzzed, interrupting us.

He let out a quiet laugh as he pulled back from me. I took the cookies out of the oven and put them in a container before they had time to cool. I just wanted to get back to my husband.

I slipped my fingers into his hand. "Let's go back to bed."

"I thought you said you couldn't sleep."

"I never said anything about sleeping." I smiled mischievously and headed up the stairs, feeling Jack follow close behind me.

...

Jack's fingertips danced across the bare skin of my back as the early morning light began to stream through the window. He brushed his lips against my nose.

"So, you bake when you can't sleep? That's new information."

"I don't do it often, but yes." I snuggled into his chest. "Actually, the last time I did that was shortly after I met you."

"Oh, really?"

"Mhmm. I might have had some trouble sleeping because I couldn't stop thinking about a certain sheriff who had just moved next door…"

"Was that when you brought me cookies?" He slipped his fingers through mine.

I nodded. "I figured that it was only fair to give you some since you were the reason I baked them in the first place."

"So that wasn't something you do for everyone?"

"Nope." I touched his cheek. "Just for you."

"Well, I appreciated the gesture, but did you have to bring them by so early in the morning?" He smirked.

"I had to give them to you before I chickened out." I kissed his chest. "Besides, it gave me a glimpse of my future."

"Your future?"

"That was the first time I got to see how cute you look with your bedhead." I ran my fingers through his hair. "And I'm so happy that wasn't the last time."

"Well, I'm glad my bedhead didn't scare you away."

I kissed him deeply. "Never."

He brought his hand to my cheek. "You are so beautiful, Beth." He moved his lips across my face and down to my shoulder.

"Jack." I gently pushed him away. "We should probably get up and get ready for church."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay here and rest?"

"I rested all yesterday evening. Besides, if we stay in this bed much longer, we aren't going to be resting."

He pulled me back to his chest. "But it's so cold outside and so warm in this bed." He kissed me. "So warm with you."

I kissed his nose and untangled myself from his arms. "Well, I'm going to church today, so I'm going to wrap my cast and hop in the shower. You can stay home if you want." I turned back around once I reached the bathroom door. "Or you can join me. It'll be warm in the shower."

It was comical how quickly he jumped from the bed and ran past me into the bathroom.

...

After church, Jack and I headed over to the café for lunch with our friends.

As soon as we got to Abigail's, I quickly excused myself and hurried to the bathroom. A few minutes later, Jack tapped on the door and found me sitting on the floor, leaning back against the wall.

I smiled weakly. "I guess the morning sickness isn't over yet."

He sat beside me and handed me some crackers and a glass of water. "I'm sorry."

I shook my head. "This will all be worth it when we finally get to see him and hold him."

"Him?"

I shrugged, brushing my hand across my stomach. "I don't know. I just have a feeling that it's a boy. I could be wrong." I took a sip of water. "Did anyone out there suspect anything?"

"I don't think so. Rosemary, Lee, and Abigail already know. Jesse and Clara weren't here yet, and I don't think the kids would know what morning sickness is, anyway. Faith might put the pieces together, but I'm not sure she was even paying attention, because Carson got here right after we did."

I smiled. "How long do you think it'll be before those two admit there's something between them?"

He laughed quietly. "Who knows. I think everyone sees something there except for them."

"I think they'd be good for each other." I took his hand. "My stomach is feeling better, so we should probably get back out there before they start to wonder what's taking us so long."

He helped me up from the floor and kissed my forehead. "I love you. I know it hasn't been easy, but thank you for carrying our baby."

"Jack Thornton, you are my favorite person in the entire world." I kissed him. "I love you so much."

He took my hand and started to lead me back to the dining room.

"Jack, wait."

"What is it?" He stepped closer.

"Maybe we should just tell everyone. Half of them know already, anyway, and then we wouldn't have to come up with an excuse as to why we were back here for so long."

"I'm fine with telling them."

I took a deep breath. "Okay, let's do this."

Jack pulled out my chair for me when we returned to the dining room.

"Sorry about that, everyone. Morning sickness can be rough."

Abigail and Rosemary smiled knowingly.

"Did you just say 'morning sickness'?" Faith looked at me curiously.

Clara's eyes lit up. "You're pregnant?"

I nodded, a smile stretching across my face. "I'm almost twelve weeks, due in June."

"Congratulations" came from multiple people around the table.

Jack squeezed my hand. By the look on his face, I knew that he was thinking about how proud and excited he was to be a father. He was going to be a great one.