A/N Sorry for making you wait to find out what the baby is! I actually wrote two versions of this chapter -one with a boy and one with a girl- and I didn't decide which one to use until pretty recently. I hope you enjoy it!

...

Jack brushed the hair from my face, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. "A beautiful little boy. We have a son."

Faith immediately placed the screaming infant on my chest. His cries quieted to whimpers as I gently rubbed his back. "Hi there, sweet boy. I love you so much." Tears filled my eyes as I looked into the face of my son, the amazing life that Jack and I created together. He had been inside of me for nine months, and it was surreal that he was now in my arms.

I was reluctant to hand him over when Abigail stated that she needed to bring him to Faith to clean him up and check him over.

"You did a great job, Beth. I'm so proud of you." Jack touched my cheek. "Do you think you'll feel up to moving upstairs in a bit? You'll probably be a lot more comfortable there."

"Can I rest here for a little while first?"

"Of course you can. Whatever you want."

Abigail approached us, our son bundled up in a towel. "He's nice and clean now." She grinned as she handed him to Jack. "Does this little man have a name yet?"

"Not yet, but I have one idea."

Jack looked at me curiously. I motioned with my finger for him to move closer. He carefully leaned forward, readjusting the baby in his arms.

After I whispered the name to him, he sat and thought about it for a moment. "Really?"

I nodded. "The moment I saw his face, that's the name that popped into my head. I like it so much more than the other names we've talked about. You can pick the middle name, if you want."

"Let me think about it." He passed our son to me. "I'm going to grab your phone so we can let our parents know he's here."

"Can you help me upstairs first?" I glanced over at Faith. "Is it okay for me to move?"

"Yeah, you can move as long as you feel up to it."

Ten minutes later, I was settled in my bed, my new son snuggled in my arms. Faith, Abigail, and Clara had kindly offered to clean up downstairs so Jack and I could focus on bonding with our little boy.

Jack sat beside me, draping his arm across my shoulders. "We should call our parents before it gets too late."

I nodded in agreement. I looked down at our son, who was now showing signs of hunger. Jack called his mom and put the phone on speaker while I shifted the baby in my arms.

"Jack? Is everything okay?"

He grinned. "Everything is great. You have a grandson."

"Oh, that's wonderful!"

"He's beautiful. I'll send you a picture later when he's done eating." He brushed his fingers through the baby's soft hair. "He doesn't have a name yet, but we'll let you know as soon as we decide."

"Let me know when Lizzy is feeling up to some visitors so Grandma Charlotte can meet this little man."

"I will. Okay, we need to call Elizabeth's parents now and let them know, so I'll talk to you later. I love you, mom."

"I love you, too. Congratulations, son."

After he ended the call, he dialed my mom's number, and we had a similar conversation with my parents.

The baby had finished eating, and I passed him to Jack.

"So, his middle name. I have an idea."

...

Jack put a clean diaper on the baby and wrapped him back up. He walked around the bed to place the baby in my arms.

"Jack Edward Thornton, you are the most perfect baby I have ever seen." I stroked his cheek. He looked just like his father.

"Well, with you as his mom, how could he not be perfect?" Jack lowered himself into the bed beside me.

"He's also half you, so you must be pretty perfect, too. Right, Teddy? Your dad is pretty great, isn't he?"

He kissed my cheek and reached over, smoothing down the baby's dark hair. "Wow, we made a really cute baby."

"That we did." I turned to meet his gaze. "I love you, Jack."

"I love you. You're amazing, Elizabeth."

"Amazing and right. I told you we were going to have a boy." I smirked.

"You're going to remind me of that forever, aren't you?"

I shrugged and smiled. "Probably."

I looked down, and Teddy yawned. A low rumble of thunder sounded outside; the storm that had raged for hours was finally dying down. Jack put his arm around me, pulling me close.

"You know, it's a shame that Rosemary and Lee aren't here. Rosie would've really appreciated his dramatic timing."

Jack chuckled. "Speaking of Rosemary and Lee, we should probably call them first thing in the morning to let them know about their new neighbor."

"Yeah. Rosemary is going to be so happy. She's been telling Alina about her new friend for like seven months now." I yawned. "You know, it's almost like we're living in some frontier town out west in the early 1900s or something, having a baby in our house without any electricity."

"That's true."

"Although, I have a feeling most frontier women did not give birth in bathrooms with a tornado happening outside."

"The tornado was like five whole miles away from here." He laughed softly. "But that is going to be a great story to tell him someday. Hey." He kissed my cheek. "How about I put him to bed, and we all try to get a little sleep?"

I nodded and passed our son to him. I leaned my head on my pillow, and I was asleep before Jack returned to the bed.

...

I woke to the smell of eggs cooking downstairs. Abigail and Clara had stayed overnight in the guest room, so they had probably gotten up early to make breakfast. Jack was still asleep beside me. I stood quietly and peeked into the bassinet. Teddy looked up at me, wide awake. I carried him to the glider, which had been moved from the nursery for the time being.

Jack woke while I was feeding him. He kissed the top of my head. "Good morning, mama."

I smiled. "Good morning, dad."

"I'm going to see what's going on downstairs."

"Okay. We'll be here."

Teddy fell asleep in my arms soon after he finished eating. I continued rocking him, not wanting to put him down yet. His little dimpled hand twitched while he dreamed.

"Hey, Abigail made breakfast. I can bring you a plate if you aren't up to going downstairs."

I shook my head. "I'll head down in a little while. I don't want to wake him, and he just went down a few minutes ago."

"Okay." He touched Teddy's cheek. "You should probably know that we have some guests downstairs, too."

"Who?"

"Rosemary, Lee, Alina, Becky, and Cody. The kids stayed with Rosie and Lee last night because of the storm."

I put my hand on his arm. "Tell them I'll be down soon, and they can see the baby as soon as he wakes up again."

"Will do." He headed toward the stairs. "Oh, also," he stopped in the doorway, "the power is still out."

I groaned. A day full of the June sun was bound to be hot, and it would be miserable without an air conditioner.

I heard the chatter get louder downstairs and decided that it was time to greet our guests. Teddy stayed asleep when I placed him in the bassinet. I pulled on my robe as I headed toward the living room.

"Good morning, Elizabeth. How are you feeling?" Abigail placed a plate of food on the table and ushered me over.

I sighed. "Exhausted. Happy. Terrified. Sore. You name it, I'm feeling it." I picked at the fruit and eggs on the plate in front of me. "Hey, Jack said the kids were here." I looked around the room, noticing they were absent.

Rosemary sat in the chair beside me. "They were getting restless, so they just went with Lee and Alina to take the dogs for a walk." She took a sip of coffee. "So, I hear this son of yours is all about the dramatic entrance."

I laughed and nodded. "Not only did he decide to come two weeks early, but of course, it had to be in the middle of the worst storm we've had this year. Did they tell you he was born by candlelight in the bathtub?"

"The bathtub?" Her eyes grew wide. "And I thought Alina's arrival was dramatic. I think I'm going to get along really well with this little boy of yours."

I felt Jack's hand on my shoulder. "Will you be okay if I head out for a little while? I know I said I would take off work, but they're short-staffed right now. I need to make sure nobody needs anything. It'll just be an hour or two."

"I'll be fine. Be careful, though. No going into buildings where beams might fall on you."

He chuckled, but he knew the seriousness of my statement. It hadn't even been a year since he was injured and I could have lost him. "Faith said she'd drop by sometime later today just to check up on you and Teddy again." He kissed my cheek. "I'll be back soon. I love you."

"I love you, too."

"You two are just so cute." Clara spoke up after the front door closed behind Jack.

I rolled my eyes. "What about you and Jesse? You two are pretty cute yourselves."

She blushed. "You sound just like Abigail."

I heard the baby fuss upstairs. Rosemary stopped me as I began to stand. "I'll get him and bring him down. It's about time I meet this little boy of yours, anyway." She winked and headed up the stairs.

By the time she returned, Teddy was asleep again, perfectly comfortable in his aunt Rosemary's arms.

"Elizabeth, he is just perfect. You said his name is Teddy?"

I nodded. "It's technically Jack Edward, but we decided it would be less confusing if we didn't call him Jack."

"Great. Now Lee is going to want a son named after him." She laughed.

"Jack actually suggested Jack Junior as a joke when I was only a few months along. I honestly didn't give it any more thought until he was born, though. Jack wasn't fully on board until we compromised. Jack chose his middle name and suggested we call him Teddy."

"Mm, that newborn smell is just intoxicating." She snuggled my son close. "He's a big one."

"Oh, believe me, I know. I could tell when I was pushing all nine and a half pounds of him out of me."

"Goodness! Nine and a half pounds? Without an epidural?! Bless you, Elizabeth."

"Yes, I wouldn't recommend it." I laughed softly. "And to think, he would've weighed even more had he not been born early." I shuddered at the thought.

"Okay, Aunt Abigail's turn to hold this little man."

Rosemary reluctantly handed the baby over to his godmother.

"Oh my goodness, look at this sweetheart." Abigail looked up at me and smiled. "I didn't get a great look at him last night. He looks like Jack."

"Doesn't he? Jack said he doesn't see it, but seriously, it's like Teddy is his clone."

...

Jack returned a few hours after he had left, leading another person into the house. "Hey. Look who I ran into."

Faith waved as she followed him inside.

"Didn't I just see you?" We both laughed. "Teddy is asleep, so we can head upstairs."

Rosemary was the last of our guests, and she took the opportunity to excuse herself and head home.

Faith checked me over and asked a few questions about how I was feeling before she brought Teddy over to the bed. "I know I said this last night, but he is just adorable."

I laughed softly. "Thank you. I agree."

She wrapped him back up and handed him to me. "You both seem to be doing well. I already told Jack this, but I would suggest you drop by the hospital so you and the baby can get checked out by a doctor. And I'll let you know when Carson is back in town so you can bring him into the office and get a checkup there."

"Thank you, Faith. Hey," I shifted Teddy in my arms, "how are you and Carson?"

She blushed slightly. "We're doing well."

She and Carson met when he began working as a pediatrician in the same office where she worked as a nurse-midwife. They had been dating since shortly after Jack and I got married.

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Well, I'll see you later, Elizabeth. And let me know if you need anything else before Carson gets back."

"I will." I followed her down the stairs. "Thank you again." I hugged her before she left.

...

After a few hours in the hospital and multiple tests, Teddy and I were both given a clean bill of health, and Jack and I were allowed to return home with our perfect son.

I settled into the couch with Teddy snuggled up in my arms. Jack sat beside me, and I leaned into his shoulder.

"We're finally alone." He kissed the top of my head and wrapped his arm around me.

"I still can't believe we're parents, Jack. We really have a baby."

He reached over and touched Teddy's cheek. "He's amazing. You're amazing."

"I love you, Jack." I pulled away from him after a few moments. "Sorry, it's just so hot in here, and you're like a furnace."

"Hopefully the power will be back up soon. I'm sorry it's so miserable."

I shook my head. "It's not your fault."

"I have an idea." He kissed my temple. "How about I take Teddy for a little while and you can take a nap?"

"Jack, that's sweet, but I know you're exhausted, too."

"Yes, but he didn't come out of me. You deserve a little rest." He touched my cheek.

"Are you sure?"

He took the baby from my arms before I could protest. "Just go. I promise to come wake you if we need anything."

"I don't deserve you, Jack Thornton." I stood and kissed his hair before I headed up to our room.

...

I rubbed my eyes as I quietly stepped down the stairs. Rip lay stretched out beside the couch. "Jack?" I walked around the house; Jack was nowhere to be found. I heard Bronte bark in the backyard.

I pushed the back door open, and Bronte rushed up to me.

"Hey, Bee." I patted her head.

"Hi." Jack spoke from the porch swing. Teddy was nestled in his arms, sleeping peacefully.

"Hi." I sat beside him. "Thank you for letting me rest. How was he?" I nodded toward our son.

"A little fussy, but I got him settled. He'll probably be hungry when he wakes up again."

I leaned my head on his shoulder. "I still can't believe he's finally here. Thank you, Jack."

He kissed the top of my head. "For what?"

"Well, without you, I wouldn't have him."

He chuckled. "I should be thanking you. You did all the hard work. My job was easy."

I nudged his side. "You put up with me for the past nine months. That's no small feat."

"I'd say everything from the past nine months was worth it." He looked down at the baby sleeping peacefully in his arms.

I gently touched Teddy's soft cheek, a smile playing on my lips. "Definitely."

The corner of his mouth turned up in his sleep, revealing a tiny dimple.

I sighed contentedly. "Oh my goodness, I just love him so much. I can't believe we made him, Jack. He's really ours."

"He is. He's wonderful." He brushed his fingers through my hair, meeting my gaze. "I love you, Beth."