A/N Here is the second of the two Christmas chapters. Happy holidays to all of you lovely people who take the time to read these stories! I appreciate you so much!

Also, there's a quote from Jane Eyre in this one. I know it's in the public domain, but I still want to credit it to Charlotte Bronte :)

...

"Mom? Dad? Is anyone home?"

I stepped into the entryway to greet Viola and her husband. "Hi, Lionel. Hey, Vi." I hugged my sister. "Mom and dad and Julie are all out back."

"Hi, Elizabeth. Do you mind holding George for a minute while we go unload the rest of our stuff?"

"Not at all." I took my nephew from her, and she and Lionel went back out to their car. "Hi, Georgie. Do you remember me? I'm your Auntie Beth. I got to meet you a few months ago when your Uncle Jack and I got married." I snuggled him close and carried him to the living room, smiling as I thought about my own baby. "You know, Georgie, next year, you're going to get a little cousin. Uncle Jack and I are having a baby this summer." George looked up at me and babbled. "Yeah, that's right, Georgie. I have a baby in my belly right now. Right in here." I pointed at my stomach.

"What did you just say?"

I jumped a little, startled by my sister's voice. "Vi, I didn't hear you come back in."

"Oh, sorry." She took her son back from me. "Um, were you just saying that you're pregnant?" She raised her eyebrows.

I nodded and brought my hand to my stomach, laughing softly. "Yes. This is a baby in here, not the result of the big after-Christmas breakfast I ate this morning. Due in June."

"Congratulations, Elizabeth." She wrapped me in a hug. "You're absolutely going to love being a mom."

"Thanks, Vi. Jack and I are really excited." I brushed my hand across my stomach as I felt a tiny flutter. The corners of my lips turned up. Hi, baby. "Well, we should go find mom and dad and let them know that you all are here."

I slipped my coat on and led Viola and George into the backyard. Jack and Lionel followed close behind us when they noticed we were headed outside.

My parents were walking through the snow, arm in arm, looking so in love. Julie was sitting on the porch swing, covered in a blanket.

She jumped up and squealed when she saw Viola and the baby. "Oh, give me my nephew!" She held George close, kissing his cheek. "Did Elizabeth tell you?"

"That she's pregnant? Yes." She glanced back at me with a smile.

My parents had turned around when they heard Julie's commotion, and they came over to greet Viola and Lionel.

Jack put one arm around me.

I leaned up and kissed him. "I felt the baby move again, right when I was telling Vi about the pregnancy."

He placed his hand on my stomach. "I know it'll still be a while, but I can't wait until I can feel it."

"It's amazing, Jack. I know we've seen the ultrasounds and heard the heartbeat, but somehow, this makes it even more real. It's like he's letting me know that he's really in there."

"He? You're still thinking it's a boy?"

I shrugged. "Yeah. I still don't have an explanation as to why I think that, though. Maybe I'm just thinking how nice it would be to have a mini Jack."

He kissed me again. "I don't know. I'd be really happy with a mini Elizabeth."

"Well, boy or girl, I'm just so happy to be doing this whole parenthood thing with you." I brushed my hand across my stomach. "I still say it's a boy, though."

...

My parents took Jack and Lionel out to lunch, wanting some time to get to know their sons-in-law better. Julie, Viola, and I settled in the living room after George went down for a nap.

Viola took a seat on the couch beside me. "So, Jules, how's Tom?"

"Tom who?" She took a sip of tea, clearly feigning ignorance.

"Don't act like you don't know which Tom we're talking about." I hit her arm playfully. "You two seemed pretty cozy at my wedding."

"You should know how he is, since you're married to his brother."

"He and Jack really don't talk all that often."

Julie sighed. "Right now, we're just friends."

Viola raised her eyebrows. "Julie Thatcher is just friends with a man she is obviously attracted to? I don't believe it."

"Well, it's the truth. I've learned that it doesn't work out well just to jump right into a relationship."

I absentmindedly brought my hands to my stomach. "Not to discount your experience, but Jack and I definitely skipped right past the 'friends' stage, and it worked out really well for us."

"I know it worked for you, and I'm happy for you, but it hasn't worked for me. I want to try something different. Maybe it will work better for me if I take things slow."

Viola refilled her mug. "Well, I'm proud of you, Julie. You've really matured in the past year."

Julie set her mug on the table. "I think seeing you two settling down and starting your families has shown me that I want that. I'm tired of going from guy to guy with no thought of commitment. I want something real."

"Well, you'll find that someday, whether it's with Tom or someone else. You'll find it."

"Thanks, Vi." Julie smiled and glanced between us. "I'm so glad you could both come for Christmas. I miss being able to talk to you guys like this." She reached over and took my hand. "And I want to apologize to you about what I said this morning. I know it's not any of my business."

"Thank you, Jules."

Viola looked at us curiously.

Julie cleared her throat. "Um, I may have asked if she got pregnant before the wedding…"

"I get it, though. I realize that the timing is a little questionable. I got pregnant sometime in the first few days after the wedding. Not to mention the fact that I had said we were planning to wait to have a baby."

"Wait." Viola turned her attention to me. "You're telling me that Elizabeth Thatcher, master planner, wasn't planning to get pregnant right away?"

I shook my head. "I'm thrilled to be pregnant, but no. This baby was not planned."

"Wow. I never would've guessed." She proceeded to ask me questions about how the pregnancy was going so far, having just gone through the same experience.

We spent that evening with the whole family, enjoying a delicious dinner—including Jack's favorite gooey butter cake— and exchanging a few presents. The previous year, I had spent Christmas with only my parents and Julie, as Viola and Lionel had stayed in London to spend the holiday with his family.

It still felt strange to me that I hadn't known Jack the previous Christmas, yet now he sat beside me, my husband and the father of our unborn child. How quickly my life had changed. It was absolutely wonderful.

...

A few days after Christmas, Jack and I went to dinner together, just the two of us. I loved my family, but I needed some time away from the house and away from them.

Jack excused himself to go to the restroom, and I missed him immediately, feeling alone in the crowded restaurant.

"Elizabeth? Fancy seeing you here."

My anxiety shot up at the sound of his voice. "Hello, Charles."

He stood beside the table, waiting to see if I would get up and hug him. I stayed where I was, praying that Jack would return soon.

Charles slid into the seat across from me. "So, are you still living in Oklahoma?"

I nodded. "We just came up to visit my parents for the holidays."

"You know, I've missed you, Elizabeth. I miss our friendship. I miss when we were more than friends." He put his hand on mine. Clearly, he didn't catch that I had said 'we' when I answered his question. Jack couldn't come back soon enough.

I pulled away, scooting as far back in my seat as I could. "Charles, stop. We were over ages ago."

"You were done, Elizabeth. I wasn't."

"Charles, I'm married now, to a wonderful man. Haven't my parents mentioned that? There's nothing between you and me anymore; honestly, I don't think there ever was anything real between us. I'm so sorry if I ever said or did anything that made you feel like you might have another chance with me. We can't be together, Charles. I love my husband."

I saw Jack out of the corner of my eye. He froze when he saw Charles sitting in his spot.

"In fact, there he is now." I stood and caught his eye, waving him back over. I put my hands on his shoulders, speaking quietly. "I had nothing to do with this, I promise."

I slid back into the booth, Jack right beside me. I kept one hand on his leg beneath the table.

"Jack, this is Charles." I motioned between them. "Charles, this is my husband, Jack."

Charles looked wary as he shook Jack's hand. "Nice to meet you."

"Likewise." Jack slid his arm around me, protectively. "So, Charles. You and Elizabeth are old friends?"

"We used to date."

My hand tensed on Jack's leg. Charles wasn't a bad man when I had known him—he was actually very sweet—but he seemed to be acting much differently than he did when we were together. He was jealous. He really had no right to be jealous. It had been years since I had seen him.

"I think Elizabeth has mentioned that before." He slowly rubbed his hand up and down my arm, trying to keep me calm. It was still amazing to me that he knew exactly what I needed without my mentioning it.

"So how long have you two been," he cleared his throat, "uh, married?"

"Almost four months."

"And how long have you known each other?"

I forced myself to take a deep breath before I said or did anything rude. Jack answered for me.

"We met last February."

"Wow. Just last February? So you got married after less than a year of knowing each other? That seems kind of…fast. Any reason for that?"

"Not that it's any of your business, Charles, but no."

"I'm sorry. It's just that I couldn't help but notice that you're pregnant, and it looks as though you could be more than four months along."

It took everything in me to keep myself from smacking him across the face. "I'm not even going to respond to that. Jack, we're leaving."

He stood and helped me up from the booth. "Charles, I would appreciate it if you would leave my wife alone from now on."

We quickly paid the bill and left the restaurant without so much as a glance back at Charles.

Jack turned toward me once we were in the car. "Beth, are you okay?"

I shrugged. "I have no idea what just happened in there. It's like he's a completely different person from the boy I grew up with and the man I dated." I rested my hands on my stomach. "I can't believe he had the audacity to question our motives for getting married."

Jack squeezed my hand. "Let's just go. I want to get as far from that man as possible before I do something I'll regret."

"Thanks for having my back." I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "I'm thinking I need a nice, relaxing, warm bath when we get back to the house. Maybe my husband would like to join me?"

He turned the key in the ignition. "How fast can this car go?"

...

After tossing and turning for a while, I slipped out of the bed, trying not to disturb Jack. I sank into the chair on the far side of my room, looking out the window at the tiny snowflakes falling from the clouds.

"Beth, what are you doing?" Jack came over and knelt in front of me.

"I can't sleep. It's fine. Just go back to bed."

"No, I'm awake now, and something's bothering you." He brushed a strand of hair from my face. "What is it?"

I sighed. "It's silly."

"I'm sure it's not."

I looked away from him, bringing my hands to my stomach. "It's just really bugging me that Charles assumed we got married quickly because I'm pregnant. I know I shouldn't care, because I obviously know that wasn't the reason at all."

"Hey, look at me." He touched my cheek, turning my face to meet his. "I'm not surprised at all that you're bothered by the things he said. I was bothered by it, too. He was incredibly rude to you, and I wanted nothing more than to slap the smirk off his face."

I laughed softly. "I'm glad I'm not the only one who felt that way."

"I'm so proud of how you handled that whole situation, Beth. You are so much stronger than you think. I know it hurts, because he was calling into question your values and our relationship." He kissed me gently. "But we know the truth. We know how we feel, we know why we got married quickly. Everyone who matters to us knows those things, too."

"I don't think I've ever met anyone who can talk me down like you do."

"That's what I'm here for." He kissed me again. "Now let's get back to bed."

"I'm not tired anymore."

"I know just what you need." He smiled mischievously and pulled me over to the bed. "Just get comfortable."

I looked at him curiously as I slipped under the covers. He dug around in my bag for a moment before taking something out.

"What are you doing, babe?"

"Just trust me." He slid into the bed beside me and handed me a book.

I grinned. "How did you know I brought this with me?"

"You've brought a book with you on every trip that we've been on, including our honeymoon. I figured you'd have one with you now, and I was fairly certain that it would be a copy of Jane Eyre. I know you pretty well, Beth."

"Sometimes I worry that you know me better than I know myself." I laughed softly as I opened the book.

He put his arm around me. "Turn to chapter twenty-seven."

"Okay…" I flipped through the pages and settled against his shoulder, unsure of where he was going with this.

He pointed at a paragraph that he had underlined. "That quote right there, that's my favorite. The first time I read this book, that's what stood out to me the most. That's how I felt about you—how I still feel about you."

I cleared my throat and started reading quietly. "'I have for the first time found what I can truly love—I have found you. You are my sympathy—my better self—my good angel.'"

"You are my sympathy and my better self, Beth." He reached over and brushed his fingers across my cheek. "And you're beautiful and caring, and you are my entire world."

I wiped a tear from my cheek. "Jack Thornton… Seriously, how was I ever lucky enough to find you?"

"Seriously, though, I'm the lucky one." He kissed me softly. "I love you, Elizabeth Thornton."

I set the book on the nightstand, turning off the lamp before I kissed him again. "I love you, too."